County: Kilkenny Site name: 78 and 79 High Street, Kilkenny
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KK019-026 Licence number: 17E0235
Author: Seán Shanihan & Edel Barry, Shanarc Archaeology Ltd
Site type: 16th/17th-century house
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 650534m, N 655926m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.652172, -7.253150
Monitoring, and architectural assessment and a site inspection took place of a building at 78/79 High Street and the Butter Slip, Kilkenny City. This work was undertaken in compliance with two planning conditions for refurbishment work undertaken as part of the conversion of a building of possible 17th-century date for use by St Canice’s Credit Union, High Street, Kilkenny. The monitoring work took place between 6 June and 9 November 2017.
A site visit was conducted on 1 August 2017 to assess the built heritage potential of the building and potential of the late medieval architectural fragments which had been revealed in the course of the removal of plaster.
The building is situated in an historic area which has been developed since the late medieval era. Opening onto the Butter Slip, a laneway which was laid out in the early 17th century, the building is enclosed to the north, east and west by buildings of contemporaneous or slightly later date. It is abutted to the west by a three-storey single-bay structure which forms part of the building to the south, and bridges the laneway via a round-headed arch. Within the carriageway under the arch, carved stone corbels protrude from the walls at each corner, having been put in place to support the floor. The floor appears to have been replaced as they no longer serve this function.
The exposed south facade comprises a three-bay three storey elevation. An etching of the Butter Slip and Langton House, viewed from St Kierans Street, depicts a cruciform roof to the building addressed in this study, as well as a masonry chimneystack to the party wall, which would correspond with the location of the fireplace described to the south-east elevation. The gabled roof is no longer extant and has been replaced with a flat roof. A cast-iron hopper and downpipe are placed within a recess in the wall between the west and centre bays, and reaches only to the first floor sill level, where a continuous stone string course projects from the wall. The walls are constructed in rubble stone, brought to courses, with frequent inclusion of red brick, suggesting repairs. It is stepped, with the central bay recessed to the upper floors. The wall is rendered to the parapet, over the lintel of the second floor window. The wall to the upper part of the east elevation is rendered. Square-headed window openings have concrete surrounds, replacement windows and concrete sills. A brick relieving arch and brick-filled opening over the ground floor indicates the erstwhile presence of an opening. The building is accessed via a traditional-style timber shop front, which was inserted in the late twentieth century.
The building is roughly square in plan. It is laid out over three stories, with a shallow basement or lower ground floor level underneath. The upper level is accessed via a staircase to the east elevation. The uppermost level is not impacted upon in the current development. The walls are constructed of uncoursed rubble limestone and sandstone, bonded using lime mortar. Frequent repairs have been carried out to the walls and are evident to the interior. The recent internal partition walls had been removed at the time of this assessment. Georgian red brick has been employed for most of these, indicating they were carried out from the close of the eighteenth century. Some repointing in lime mortar can be seen, as well as repointing in cement mortar. A recent flat roof is enclosed by a rendered wall.
The lower ground floor level will not be used as part of the current proposed development, and will be enclosed. The current ground floor level is slightly above that of the entrance to the south elevation. Some architectural fragments and features are note worthy at this level.
Over the entrance, through a mid-twentieth century shop front, a stone relieving arch is visible over the rendered wall. This relieving arch would have been constructed over a flat-headed opening or lintel, indicating that the shop front was inserted at the site of a pre-existing opening to the wall.
To the centre of the south elevation a recent square-headed opening has been blocked using machine-made red brick. It is surrounded in red brick set with exposed headers indicating that it may have originally had a protruding surround. Its form, fabric and positioning indicates that the opening was inserted at a later date. The outer elevation of this feature corresponds with a rendered square-headed panel with a recessed central panel, situated within the carriageway under the arch.
To the north of the south-east elevation to the upper part of the wall, the vertical components of a stone fireplace can be seen. These do not correspond with any current or recent floor level in the building. They comprise dressed limestone piers, chamfered to the interior edge, and tapering out towards the base to terminate in blocks. The opening to the interior of the fireplace has been in-filled with machine-made red brick. Recent red brick is also evident under the base of the west upright.
To the north-west elevation of the room two erstwhile openings are being re—opened as part of the current development. That to the west (Ope Number 2) will serve as a door opening. This opening has previously served as a door opening, probably to the exterior, as a recent breeze block wall currently blocks the opening. It was probably blocked when the extension to the rear of Number 78 was constructed in the late 1990s.
As part of the work to bring the base of this ope to current floor level, a limestone arch was revealed. This arch is approximately 700mm in width and extends from the western gable for c.1.80m. It probably continues eastward beneath the floor level. This feature may have covered an opening within the boundary wall with the building to the north-east. It is thought to have spanned an area of approximately 3m, based on what is left in situ.
The opening to the east (Ope Number 1) was previously a window opening and retained the timber components of a timber sliding sash window. A breeze-block wall, the south elevation of the aforementioned extension to the rear of Number 78 High Street, to the outer elevation currently also blocks this opening.
To the east part of the north-west elevation, squared roughly-dressed limestone blocks are laid as block-and-start quoins and form a very definitive contrast to the rubble stone and brick of the adjacent wall to the west, with a clear dividing line indicating that these were not built as one wall. Analysis of cartographic resources indicates that the footprint of the building in question has altered substantially since it was originally constructed, and that it has been extended both northwards and eastwards, thereby incorporating elements of erstwhile neighbouring buildings in the process. The stonework evident in the quoins is indicative of a later construction date, and it is thought that this feature formed part of a slightly alter which originally abutted this building.
To the south-east elevation, the upper part of the fireplace is evident. This comprises a dressed limestone lintel, measuring approximately 1.60m in width, with a camber-headed arch. A stone relieving arch is inset to the wall overhead, and a red brick relieving arch has been inserted within. The lintel is cracked to the east of the feature.
Some pinnings (small pieces of stone or brick pressed into the mortar joints of a wall to reduce the amount of mortar required and thereby reduce the likelihood of shrinkage) are missing from the walls, notably over the fireplace lintel.
To the centre of the north-west elevation, the wall is stepped outwards approximately from 1.10m-1.20m from current upper floor level. The upper part of the wall employs a larger proportion of red brick, and also exhibits a bulge to the centre which may have been replaced or repaired at a later date.
To the base of the north-west elevation at the centre of the wall, a course of long shallow stones, measuring approximately 1m x 0.30m in section, run diagonally across the base of the wall. The wall underneath is covered in a roughcast render.
The roughly-squared limestone block-and-start quoins detailed as part of the description of the lower floor continue upwards to approximately 1.30m above the current upper floor level. A chimneybreast and small fireplace have been constructed in red brick to the west of this feature.
As part of the proposed development, an existing window opening on the first floor to the north elevation of Number 79 was to be broken through in order to form a door opening across the existing ground floor flat roof. The existing window opening measured approximately 1.20m in width. However removal of plaster from the riser revealed a chamfered red brick reveal to the west, indicating that the window opening had been narrower and lower. The removal of a piece of concrete from the former opening revealed the outer panel had been blocked with red brick, with timber window framing still evident within the wall.
The building is situated within the historic area of Hightown in Kilkenny City, which developed c.1170-c.1207. The location of this building at the centre of this borough suggests that some of its fabric may be medieval in date. As has been mentioned, it opens on to lane established as a covered alley by Nicholas Langton in the early seventeenth century, linking High Street with the then Low Lane (now Saint Kieran’s Street). The Slip was intended as a passage for horses and carriages, although clearly is now unsuitable for that purpose. Steps have been added to facilitate the passage of pedestrians. The urban setting of this house is of moderate significance. The elements of the building contribute to the character and understanding of the monument, as well as providing an historical and cultural context for the overall development of the historic centre of Kilkenny. The city is representative of the establishment of urban centres by Anglo-Norman lordships, to promote and sustain this phase of development. The walls which were built around Hightown were a compelling symbol of urban authority, in addition to serving as an important defensive barrier. The construction of townhouses such as this one by wealthy merchant families therein in the Early Modern era reflects the cementing of the status of the town centre.
Frequent partial repairs are evident within the walls of the structure, as has been mentioned. Additionally, a number of significant structural alterations appear to have taken place. Notably, the internal floor arrangement within the building has been altered. The unusual situation of the Tudor fireplace between the ground and upper floor levels strongly suggests that the erstwhile floor arrangement of the structure included a floor corresponding with this fireplace. The frequency of repairs to the walls makes it difficult to assert where this floor was placed, but the red brick to the base of the west upright to the fireplace may be indicative of the presence of a putlog hole or indeed a corbel stone which would have supported the floor. The situation of an arch under Ope Number 2 is indicative of an opening at what is now a subterranean level. The ceiling height of the upper floor has been raised, as is evidenced from the stepped wall and the corresponding upper limit of the quoins to the north-west elevation. The overall height of the building does not seem to have been raised, indicating the steep pitch of the former roof. This adjustment of cruciform-roofed early houses to resemble their later Georgian counterparts was a common trend from the late eighteenth century.
The description by Prim of the Langton House in 1864-6 details a house with internal oak floors, supported by oak beams resting on stone corbels. These are no longer evident in the building in question. As has been mentioned, frequent evidence of rebuilding and repairs with red brick, much of which appears to be machine-made, can be seen to each of the walls. It seems from this, as well as the raised ceiling height and fireplace which currently straddles two floors, the floor levels within the building were adjusted at some point. There is no evidence of putlog holes or corbels upon which an oak floor would have rested, but these may have been removed as part of the repair work and subsequently rendered over. This was probably done at the same time as the roof was replaced, and its documentation by Prim in the mid-nineteenth century would indicate that this work took place subsequent to this.
The previous archaeological report indicates that the area north of the Butter Slip is occupied by both Nicholas Langton’s pre-existing house, which pre-dated 1602, and the 1609 structure. It indicates that the north-south extent of the former is not known, and the northern extent of the latter is not known.
The surviving features of the house are of varied significance. The Tudor fireplace, although it is simple in form, is well-executed, and a sophisticated example of stonemasonry and artisanship in the early modern era. The stone relieving arch over this feature was key to its stability, as single-piece stone lintel-type features such as this have very little resistance to bending. The arch over it would have reduced the load over the fireplace. Any structural movement which might redistribute the load from the masonry overhead can cause failure, typically in the form of cracking. The crack in this piece is situated to the east of the feature, and may have been supported by the construction of a brick relieving arch below, when the fireplace was blocked up.
Despite the frequent repairs and inclusions of red brick, the masonry walls are in reasonable structural condition, free of dampness and vegetation.
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