2013:618 - St Patrick's Cathedral (precinct), Dublin, Dublin

Works were carried out within the north-east corner of the precinct of St Patrick’s Cathedral during the construction of a new store-room, close to the Bride Street entrance. This gated entrance marks the line of an old lane known as Petty Canon’s Lane that originally led into St Patrick’s Close North, a large courtyard and tenement area which was cleared in and around 1900 in advance of the construction of St Patrick’s Park. The new store-room was constructed within an angle in the southern brick Victorian boundary wall of the cathedral, just south-west of the Bride Street entrance where a previous shed had stood. The new construction was just north of a new development known as Canon Court, where medieval archaeological features were found during investigations in advance of development. These included latrines, walls, pits, and possible kiln along with other later settlement features including the foundations of several brick buildings (Excavations 1998:143). As a result, the new store-room, which measured 9m north-south by 7m in width, was designed to lie above the level of these known deposits, the required depth for new foundations just 1.1m below present ground level.

During advance testing, three test-pits were excavated which revealed that the upper deposits, between 0.4m and 0.6m below present ground level, were composed of rubble and clay infill deposits. These represented disturbed deposits, probably originally 18th century in date but mixed with very modern debris suggesting considerable disturbance had taken place in this corner of the precinct. At 0.6m below present ground level, however, a consistent layer of demolition brick rubble was as found, which was at least 0.6m in depth. This can probably be associated with the tenement houses that originally stood in this location before being demolished c. 1902. This rubble deposit is likely to seal house foundations beneath.

A total of twenty-two grave-slabs were stored in this corner of the cathedral precinct, laid flat on the grass against the southern boundary wall, several of which extended across the proposed site of the new build. These slabs, however, did not originate in St Patrick’s Cathedral but are from St Peter’s church, Aungier Street (now the YMCA hostel), which was demolished in the early 1980s. The grave-slabs are generally of high status individuals and probably occupied the nave of the church, suggested by the general large size. Twelve slabs were either within the footprint of the new build or very close by and therefore deemed vulnerable to damage during the construction process. As a result it was decided to move these grave-slabs to a designated area against the limestone boundary wall, along the eastern side of the Cathedral, between the graveyard and Marsh’s Library, just a short distance away. At a later stage the rest of the slabs were also moved and placed within the new location,

The monitoring programme did not reveal any archaeological layers apart from the footprint of the previous shed. A survey of the existing boundary walls however, established that the western wall is, in fact, 18th century in date and is simply refaced in the distinctive Portmarnock brick used elsewhere. The presence of brick rubble may suggest that, as found elsewhere in Dublin, the foundations of the houses, laneways, yards etc, which are represented cartographically, are likely to survive in this area sealed beneath the protective layer of rubble. Very few artefacts were recovered from the monitoring phase and it was noteworthy that there was very little ceramic material either. However, the rubble fill did produce a series of cast-iron railings and fittings in various conditions. Two cut stones were also identified, one of which is a medieval limestone window mullion. These are stored in the Cathedral with the rest of the architectural stones and fragments.

28 Cabinteely Close, Old Bray Road, Cabinteely Dublin 18