2011:208 - FRONT SQUARE, TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, Dublin

The construction of a network of wheelchair-accessible paths in Front Square in Trinity College (DU018-020391), Dublin, gave rise to a monitoring programme which ran intermittently from November 2010 to December 2011. The college lies within the Zone of Archaeological Potential for the historic town of Dublin (DU018-020) but also contains the site of the important medieval priory of All Hallows (including graveyard) (DU018-020044), the main precinct of which was positioned in Front Square. The historical sources record that the monastery, founded ic. 1166 by Dermot McMurrough, originally occupied all this end of the college, as far east at least as the Rubrics, which forms the eastern range of Library Square, dating from c. 1700. In 1592 the college, known as ‘Queen Elizabeth’s college of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, near Dublin’, was established on the site of the monastery, the brick quadrangle of the college possibly incorporating part of the original medieval quadrangle. Rocque’s map, dated 1756, suggests that the college was located in the eastern half of Front Square, the north-east corner of the quadrangle marked by the present-day Campanile or bell-tower. This general location for the monastery was subsequently confirmed when the medieval cemetery attached to the house was identified during monitoring within Library Square, directly east of the Campanile (Excavations 1998, no. 195, 98E0150; 2006, no. 648, 03E0152).
The construction of the wheelchair-accessible paths involved the removal of existing cobbles in Front Square, but these were not an original feature of the college, having been re-laid in the late 1970s on a solid concrete base. In addition to this removal, excavation was required to a depth of 0.6m beneath some of the paths to accommodate a series of plastic ducts, intended to carry fibre-optic cables. Previous works by the writer in Front Square had located the remains of what were potentially 16th-century brick features associated with the early college, possibly the remains of the precinct wall running parallel to the north and south range of Parliament Square (west end of Front Square). Extensive infill deposits, up to 1m in depth, were also noted (Excavations 2006, no. 648).
Although excavation was limited in this monitoring programme, the work has revealed that significant foundations of the original brick college quadrangle, dated to c. 1592, survive in Front Square and are surprisingly close to present ground level, lying between 0.3m and 0.5m below the cobbles. This confirms that the main college quadrangle did lie at the eastern end of Front Square, as suspected, the investigations revealing part of the eastern and western range, at the southern end. The remains consisted of brick walls on limestone foundations, measuring approximately 0.8m in width by at least 0.55m in depth, the former built of distinctive early hand-built orange brick, which can be dated historically to c. 1592. The findings suggest that the quadrangle, from east to west, measured externally 50m in width, the eastern and western ranges measuring almost 8m in width (externally). Internally, the ranges measured 5.8m. These findings allow us finally to fix the position of the early college complex with some degree of accuracy within the modern college setting, a considerable advancement in the study of the history of the college.
The western wall of the west range, however, contained no brick element and was also wider, measuring 1.2m in width as opposed to 0.8m in width for the college walls. This wall also had an offset and was a sturdier construction, the type of build suggesting that it may represent a medieval wall, a priory wall, which was reused in the college quadrangle. Part of the southern range was also possibly located at the western end, although this wall was difficult to date. A deposit of mortar and rubble, which contained no brick, was also identified at the site of the north range (east end); this is likely to represent the octagonal steeple, recorded in the cartographic sources and probably the former belfry of the medieval church. In addition to this, several wide walls were located further north, outside the main quadrangle, and these may also have been medieval in date, associated with the medieval priory.
The evidence from the excavation programme was not limited to the site of the actual quadrangle, however, and every trench produced significant archaeological remains. A myriad of 16th-century structures were found to the west of the main quadrangle, including walls, drains, brick surfaces, and various pits and layers, all of which reveal the extent of the ‘Great Court’ in the 16th century, the forerunner of Parliament Square. This end of the college formed the grand main entrance, facing onto the city, as had the medieval monastery before it. The westward expansion of the college buildings, from the mid-17th century onwards, is hinted at by the presence of brick buildings between Houses Nos 8 and 9, which can probably be related to the construction of a north range in this location at this date. In addition to this, a large brick build just south of Front Gate (Regent House) may be all that survives of the Boyle Gatehouse built in the late 17th century, close to the site of the gatehouse of the Priory of All Hallows. At the other end of the complex, several walls can probably be identified as part of the original western range of Library Square, still standing in 1811.
A massive demolition programme was carried out in the second half of the 18th century in an ambitious project to redesign the entire college and to create large new open spaces, including Front Square. This involved the demolition of the old quadrangle and various other ranges, along with a general infilling and levelling up of the low-lying ground that sloped westwards towards the River Steine (now piped underground) and southwards towards the Provost’s House and Nassau Street. This programme of works has left a distinct archaeological footprint that is identifiable as demolition layers comprising limestone rubble and brick. These deposits were sealed in some places by large oval limestone cobbles, set upright (measuring on average 0.1m), forming a substantial surface lying approximately 0.55m below present ground level. This formed the first cobbled surface of Front Square, although it is not known whether the entire space was cobbled. The old surface was sealed when the ground level was deliberately raised by half a metre by the dumping of brown organic infill layers. This deposit forms the bedding for the modern cobbles, relaid in the 1970s.

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