2010:659 - Bishop’s Palace, The Mall, Waterford, Waterford

The Bishop’s Palace on The Mall, Waterford, was built in 1743 over the site of an earlier palace. The present building was subsequently used as Bishop Foy’s School, and up to recently functioned as an administrative building of Waterford City Council. The building is now undergoing complete conservation and restoration and will house a museum dedicated to the post-medieval history of the city of Waterford. All subsurface works have been and continue to be monitored. To date the most significant discovery is that of an earlier vaulted cellar beneath the north-eastern room. The vault was stone-built with a wicker-centred roof. The north-western wall has a niche, or wall cupboard. There are at least four steps leading downwards from the cellar to below the terrace outside the building. The doorway at the base of the steps is brick-built and backfilled with loose rubble. The vault was not entered but was measured by laser. A lamp was inserted and photographs were taken with the aid of an inverted tripod. The breach to the vault was repaired and the room is at present sealed. It is hoped to be permitted under the ministerial consent to further investigate the entrance, which must exist between the city wall and the Bishop’s Palace. It is possible that the vault pertains to the earlier palace.