2013:535 - Greyfriars, Waterford, Waterford

The monitoring works under Ministerial Consent were carried out at the rear of Nos 120-122 Parade Quay, Waterford at the north side of the erstwhile grounds of the Franciscan friary (WA009-00502) which is a National Monument in ownership (NM number 205) and also adjacent to the City Wall (WA009-005005). A Methodist church (now the Waterford Municipal Gallery, NIAH reg. No.22504099 ) was built between the site and the ruins of the Friary in 1885.

Initial works involved the demolition of a modern concrete-built shed at the roadside in Greyfriars Street, and the removal of the boundary wall which extended east from the rear of the porch of the Methodist church. At its eastern extent this wall abutted the brick façade of the former chancel of the church and clearly post-dated the building. It was predominantly stone-built with some red brick and some rectangular window opes infilled with brick. The wall was replaced by a broad set of steps to accommodate concerts and other performances. Other work consisted of insertion of communication duct and the excavation for a raft foundation to build an extension to the rear of Nos 121 - 122 Parade Quay. Finally, the project re-instated access from Greyfriars Street to the unnamed laneway which leads from the quay beside No. 123 (Jordan’s Bar) to the Central Hall, thus re-instating a passageway which was depicted in the 1764 Richards and Scalé map as ‘Brick Lane’.

The lowering of the ground by 0.6m in the area of the extension to Nos 121 and 122 revealed a stone wall roughly parallel to the rear of the buildings fronting the quay. The width of the wall was 0.8m and its height of 0.87m was exposed. It was faced at its southern side, and though the northern face was not excavated, the surface indicated that it was faced at that side too. This is unlikely to represent the city wall, which was found by Sheehan (1994) north of this location, in line with the frontage of the Parade Quay Buildings. Neither is the thickness of the wall sufficient to render its interpretation as such. The wall is more likely to represent the rear wall of a building which pre-dates the present quay-fronting property (the terrace was built in 1810). Its location was less than 1m south of the back wall of the property, and it was slightly closer to the existing building at its eastern end. The wall was not removed or damaged by the works.

Also exposed in the lowering of the ground prior to repaving of the yard was a large brick-built culvert which curved through the site, from under the roadway of Greyfriars, exiting to the east under the rear of the adjacent property 123, Parade Quay. It was roofed with large slate flags. Despite the area being within the walled city, the finds were all modern, and the layers had a largely clay-rich sterile nature which suggested made-up ground. The maximum disturbance was 0.6m below the original street level, with a dig to the base of the exposed wall reaching 0.87m, establishing its base which rested on estuarine clays. 

Reference:

Sheehan, C. 1994, ‘The city wall at 118-19 Parade Quay, Waterford’. Decies, No. 50, 8-16.

7, Bayview, Tramore, Co. Waterford