County: Kilkenny Site name: New Street/Walkin Street, Walkinslough, Kilkenny
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 20E0147
Author: Edel Barry, Thaddeus Breen & Seán Shanahan; Shanarc Archaeology Ltd.
Site type: Urban, post-medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 650336m, N 655577m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.649054, -7.256129
Archaeological test excavations were carried out between 16-22 July 2020, on a site located at the junction of Walkin Street and Lower New Street, Walkinslough, Kilkenny, in relation to the proposed demolition of open-plan warehouses and the construction of a three-storey hotel, under planning reference 07/145.
The proposed development site is located outside and to the west of the historic town of Kilkenny (RMP KK019-026) and its associated town defences (RMP KK019-026001). Walkin Street was one of the principal routeways leading to and from the medieval city, and buildings of 18th-century date remain upstanding on the street immediately adjacent to the proposed development site's north-west boundary.
A total of 13 test trenches were machine-excavated across the site. Trenches measured 1.8-2.2m in width, 15-35m in length and 0.2-1.65m in depth. No features or finds of archaeological interest relating to the adjacent St Rioc’s graveyard, or to the medieval city, were identified during test-excavation. However, several features were exposed that are consistent with the post-medieval use of the site. These include drainage channels/service trenches and stone and brick wall footings, which relate to structures constructed on the site during its use as a Bottling Store for Smithwick's brewery. Layers comprising glass bottle shards were revealed in Trenches 5 and 11, which again relate to this former use.
Unit 39a, Hebron Business Park, Hebron Road, Kilkenny
