County: Kilkenny Site name: Mayfair Building, Abbey Quarter (off Horse Barracks Lane), Gardens Td, Kilkenny
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KK019-026---- Licence number: C000798, E004822
Author: Richard Clutterbuck
Site type: Urban post-medieval barracks
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 650419m, N 656329m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.655805, -7.254788
Kilkenny County Council (KCC) is redeveloping the Mayfair Building, off Horse Barracks Lane in Kilkenny City, for use as a new public library. The Mayfair Building is located within Kilkenny City’s Zone of Archaeological Potential (RMP KK019-026----), adjacent to the city wall beside the River Breagagh and St Francis’ Abbey, both national monuments and part of the walled medieval hightown of Kilkenny. In addition, a graveyard associated with St Francis’ Abbey, and the remains of the Horse Barracks building (built c.1700), partially underlie the Mayfair Building. This development is being carried out under Ministerial Consent (C798).
AMS carried out archaeological monitoring of geotechnical investigations (GI) around the perimeter of the Mayfair Building in January 2020 (Registration Number E4822). Twelve geotechnical investigations were monitored: two cable percussion bore holes, one trial pit, two dynamic probes, five foundation inspection pits and two window samples. Two GI were abandoned due to subsurface obstructions. No evidence for the graveyard was found in any of the geotechnical investigations. The trial pit and bore holes confirmed that made ground, including archaeological stratigraphy, is between 1.9m and 2.4m deep in the vicinity of the Mayfair Building. A cut timber discovered c.2.1m deep in a peaty fill of the trial pit immediately west of the Mayfair Building indicates that wet organic material survives at depth in this area of the site. No datable material was discovered with the timber but it is likely to be medieval or early modern in date.
Archaeological monitoring of the removal of modern concrete steps and a concrete boiler house built against the city wall national monument was carried out in July and August 2020. These works included the removal of tree stumps and ground reduction between the Mayfair Building and the city wall, and repairs to the city wall as specified by a conservation engineer. These works were archaeologically monitored and recorded, and took place without adversely impacting the upstanding or subsurface archaeology associated with the site.
Archaeological Management Solutions, Fahy’s Road, Kilrush, Co. Clare. V15 C780
