2021:231 - St. Ann's Court, Englishtown, Limerick, Limerick

Archaeological test-excavations were carried out between 19 May and 12 June 2021 in accordance with Ministerial Consent No. C001010, and excavation registration No. E00524, on behalf of Limerick City and County Council in relation to the construction of affordable housing at Saint Ann’s Court, and the adjacent site known as ‘Sonny’s Corner’, in Limerick city.

The archaeological potential of the site arises from its position within the zone of archaeological potential associated with the historic town centre (LI005-017-), and by virtue of it straddling the line of the medieval town defences (LI005-017010); an upstanding section of the town wall (RPS301) on the south side of Saint Ann's Court (the street) falls within the site boundary, with the presumed line of non-extant walls extending the length of Saint Ann's Court (the street) and through the former social housing site, known by the same name, to the north side of the street.

Seven test-trenches were excavated across the site, these measured 7.5-55m in length, 2-3.8m in width, and varied in depth from 0.3-1.83m.

Part of the medieval town wall was exposed to the south side of the street in Trench 7, additionally, a 13.7m stretch, measuring 1.95m in width, was exposed less than 0.1m below ground level in the former social housing site within and between Trenches 1-3. A substantial stone wall was identified within the baulk between Trenches 1 and 2, and abutted the north-eastern side of the medieval town wall at 0.2m below ground level; this potentially represents the remains of Little Island Gate, which provided access to the interior of the historic town and whose location is thought to have been at this point. These walls are of considerable archaeological significance.

Extensive evidence of tanning activity was also identified on the former social housing site, with the remains of numerous tanning pits being exposed in Trenches 2, 3 & 4. Historic maps indicate that the site was used in post-medieval times for industrial purposes, primarily as a tannery, from at least the 19th century.

A number of additional features were identified during test-excavation which attest to occupation and use of the site in the post-medieval era and 19th/20th centuries, notably some cobbled surfaces, a culvert trench, a dark grey layer with a series of posts, and a number of collapsed masonry features. These structural remains may relate to buildings shown on the site on historic Ordnance Survey maps, and may have formed part of an industrial complex associated with the tanning work on the site. A stone wall running north-west/south-east at right angles to the corner of the town wall in Trench 7, appears to correlate with a building which first appears on the 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map.

Finds recovered during testing were predominantly post-medieval in date, and included pottery sherds, a small number of clay pipe stem fragments, pantile fragments and glass. One recovered worked bone object is a possible carved bobbin, and a composite find comprises an item of jewellery with beads, the latter may be part of a tiara or similar, and possibly an example of 'paste jewellery', a type of glass with high lead content, used in place of gems, the origins of which date back to the mid-18th century.

The pottery assemblage, forming the bulk of the finds and containing identified pieces of tin glazed earthenware, was subject to specialist analysis. The assemblage contains a varied collection of continental ware, mainly 17th century in date, but also including two sherds of Saintonge ware dating to the late medieval period (16th century). The mixture of continental wares recovered at Saint Ann's Court, usual to Limerick city but uncommon in other towns, suggests a deposit from a wealthy household at, or in proximity to the site.

Redeposition of potentially earlier material is possibly represented by two flint finds recovered from the modern overburden layer. One of these at least appeared to be worked, comprising a bipolar core. The modern overburden layer also contained fragmented animal bone, and a sample of scrap leather was recovered from a 19th-century tanning pit in Trench 2. The leather sample consists of unusable off-cuts and trimmings, made while the hides were being processed for tanning. There appears to be a mixture of flesh shavings and other unwanted or blemished pieces amongst the sample.

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