2013:152 - Parnell Street, Clonmel, Tipperary

Monitoring of ground works associated with the laying of a water main was undertaken along Parnell Street, Conmel. The works were commissioned by Clonmel Borough Council who were laying a water main along the entire length of Parnell Street. An existing water main was present on the street, extending along the northern side of the carriageway. The new water main was also positioned along the north side of the carriageway. The most western section of Parnell Street is within the Zone of Archaeological Potential for Clonmel town.

The excavated trench did not exceed 1m in width and 1.2m in depth below present ground level. The section monitored was located between the Emmet Street/Parnell Street junction and the Nelson Street/Parnell Street junction.  The line of the medieval town wall is located at the Emmet Street/Parnell Street junction. The area opened in close proximity to the medieval town wall was predominantly kept within the cut associated with modern groundworks, which had been back-filled with hardcore; however, at the base of the trench, a Victorian culvert, still in use, was revealed and punched into.  Due to the nature of its flow, the base of this feature was not investigated, but it is probable it may be a continuation of a culvert identified during monitoring of groundworks in Market Street/Emmet Street area in late 2008.? At that time it was considered a medieval cobbled surface was utilised to form the base of the culvert.

As the trench extended across the end of Emmet Street, then along the northern side of Parnell Street. It was evident this area had been subject to extensive ground disturbance. For almost the entire trench length the northern section consisted of hardcore, whilst the southern section comprised stretches of re-deposited 19th/20^th-century back-fill interspersed with swathes of hardcore.

A single pre-mid-19^th-century feature was revealed during monitoring. Located due south of the western corner of the entrance into the rear of the Hearn’s Hotel, this feature comprised three courses of stones. When the line of this feature is projected westwards it is directly due west of the southern corner Mitchell Street, which was the location of the medieval East Gate.  It is therefore considered this feature is part of the street front pertaining to, at its latest, the early 19th century and may well be the remains of a gate pillar for the entrance to the stables associated with the late 18^th-century Hearn’s Hotel building. A cut stone with a date to 1792 may pertain to the date of the building or the entrance arch to the inner courtyard where Bianconi established the stables and workshops for his coaching enterprise.  Bianconi resided at the building from c. 1826-1834 when he handed it over to Daniel Hearn who converted it into a hotel. It is also evident the Porte Cohere of the hotel is perfectly aligned head-on with Nelson Street. This suggests the coach and horses entered the hotel stable yard via Nelson Street rather than turning off Parnell Street, which would have been a considerably harder manoeuvre. Unfortunately there was no evidence of the opposing pier in the trench further to the east, which purely consisted 20^th-century hardcore.

Mary Henry Archaeological Services Ltd, 17 Staunton Row, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary