Archaeological Report - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny (Ireland)

Eachtra Journal

Issue 14 [ISSN 2009-2237]

Archaeological Excavation Report

99E0757 ext - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny

Medieval and post-medieval pits and ditches in Kilkenny city burgage plots

Archaeological Excavation Report,
Stratham’s Garage Site,
Patrick Street,
Kilkenny

Medieval and post-medieval pits and ditches in
Kilkenny city burgage plots

April 2007

Client: Belem Valley Properties Ltd.,
c/o Nolan Ryan Partnership,
No. 10 Ormonde St.,
Kilkenny

Planning Register No.: P.39/99
Licence No.: 99E0757 ext
Licensee: Bruce Sutton

Contact details:

The Forge,
Written by: Bruce Sutton Innishannon, Co. Cork
Tel.: 021 4701616
Penny Johnston E-mail: info@eachtra.ie
Web Site: www.eachtra.ie

Table of Contents

1 Summary...........................................................................................................................1
2 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................1
3 Introduction......................................................................................................................1
4 Background to the Development.......................................................................................1
5 Background to the current project.....................................................................................2
6 Historical background.......................................................................................................3
7 Patrick Street: recent archaeological investigations............................................................7
8 Patrick Street: the cartographic evidence ..........................................................................8
9 Description of excavation . ................................................................................................9
9.1 Property 1...................................................................................................................9
9.2 Property 2..................................................................................................................10
9.3 Property 3..................................................................................................................10
9.4 Property 3a................................................................................................................11
.
9.5 Property 3b................................................................................................................12
9.6 Property 4?.................................................................................................................13

10 Discussion........................................................................................................................14
10.1 Pottery....................................................................................................................... 15
10.2 Animal Bone.............................................................................................................. 15
10.3 Plant Remains............................................................................................................16

11 Conclusion. ......................................................................................................................17
.
12 Bibliography.....................................................................................................................18
13 Figures..............................................................................................................................19
14 Plates................................................................................................................................30
15 Appendices.......................................................................................................................34
15.1 Appendix 1: Context Register....................................................................................35
15.2 Appendix 2: Stratigraphic Matrix..............................................................................83
15.3 Appendix 3: Finds Register........................................................................................91
.
15.4 Appendix 4: Pottery Report.......................................................................................109
15.5 Appendix 5: Faunal Remains Report......................................................................... 132
14.6 Appendix 6: Plant Remains from Patrick Street, Kilkenny 99E757...........................144
.
15.7 Appendix 7: Catalogue of Clay Pipes......................................................................... 151
15.8 Appendix 8: Catalogue of Metal Artefacts................................................................. 154
15.9 Appendix 9: Catalogue of Stone Artefacts................................................................. 157

iii

List of Figures
Figure 1: Extract from OS Discovery Series map. Site location highlighted...........................................19
Figure 2: Extract from RMP sheet KK019. Site location highlighted.................................................... 20
Figure 3: Extract from a map of Kilkenny, 1758, by John Rocque. Site location highlighted.................21
Figure 4: Extract from OS 1st Edition map, 1841, sheet 19. Site location highlighted.. .........................22
.
Figure 5: Extract from OS 5ft map, sheet 19, 1872. Site location highlighted........................................23
Figure 6: Down Survey map of 1655. Taken from Historic Towns Atlas No. 10................................... 24
Figure 7: Extract from OS Irish Historic Atlas map of Kilkenny, 1999. Site location highlighted..........25
Figure 8: Post-excavation plan of the archaeological features at the Stratham’s Garage site, Patrick Street,
Kilkenny. . .............................................................................................................................................26
Figure 9: Extract from 5ft map of Kilkenny with the outline of medieval properties shown..................27
Figure 10: Sections through some of the excavated features...................................................................28
Figure 11: Drawing of possible whetstone from a linear feature C.271...................................................29

List of Plates
Plate 1: General photograph of Property 3a, taken from the east...........................................................30
.
Plate 2: Ditch C.235 from south-west....................................................................................................30
Plate 3: Furrows in Properties 1 and 2 from north.................................................................................31
Plate 4: Pits in Property 3a, taken from the east.....................................................................................31
Plate 5: Cobble-stone surface C.254 from west......................................................................................32
Plate 6: Wall C.295 from south-west.....................................................................................................32
Plate 7: Sewage outlet C.168 from south................................................................................................33
Plate 8: Section through pit C.143 from the south-west.........................................................................33

Copyright Notice: Please note that all original information contained within this report, including
all original drawings, photographs, text and all other printed matter deemed to be the writer’s,
remains the property of the writer and Eachtra Archaeological Projects and so may not be reproduced
or used in any form without the written consent of the writer or Eachtra Archaeological Projects.

iv

ISSUE 14: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237 Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 99E0757 ext

1 Summary

Location Site of Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
National Grid Reference 250700
155610
Sites and Monument Record No. KK19026
Excavation Licence no. 99E0757ext
OS Map Sheet no. KK 019
Elevation OD

2 Acknowledgements
The excavation director was Bruce Sutton. Field crew included Antonia Doolan and Juliana
O’Donoghue. Post-excavation work was carried out by Antonia Doolan, Robin Turk, Sara Camplese
and Penny Johnston. Specialists included Clare McCutcheon (medieval ceramics), Mary Dillon (plant
remains), Margaret McCarthy (animal bone) and ArchCon Labs Ltd. (metal conservation).

3 Introduction
This report comprises the final report on archaeological excavations which took place at the former site
of Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny city, Co. Kilkenny (Figure 1). These excavations were
carried out by Eachtra Archaeological Projects under the direction of Bruce Sutton in January and
February of 2005 (Licence number for 2005 work: 99E0757ext). The excavations were carried out in
advance of the construction of a hotel and associated services on the site (Planning Ref. no. P.39/99).
The archaeological remains included a dense concentration of medieval and post-medieval refuse pits
in addition to a post-medieval cobbled surface and a small section of a post-medieval wall.

4 Background to the Development
Previous archaeological work at the site consisted of an archaeological assessment, undertaken in 1999
by Jacinta Kiely of Eachtra Archaeological Projects (Kiely 2000a). Three trenches were opened, each of
which produced archaeological material. Based on the results presented in the assessment report, the
subsequent Grant of Planning contained a condition related to the archaeological aspects of the site.
Condition 5 stipulated:
“ it shall be necessary for the applicant/developer to employ an archaeologist to carry out an excavation…
within the proposed development site in advance of site preparation and /or construction works … A series of
open trenches shall be archaeologically excavated by hand in the areas affected by the proposed structures as
follows: a) The archaeology in the basement area of the hotel shall be fully excavated. b) The archaeology in
the area of the restaurant and kitchen shall be excavated to a depth of 0.81m and a buffer zone measuring
0.5m shall be established. c) The archaeology in the area of the stores shall be excavated to a depth of 1.213
and a buffer zone measuring 0.5m shall be established. d) The archaeology in the area of the car park shall
be excavated to a depth of 0.5m”.
The necessary archaeological excavations were carried out in January and February of 2005 under

http://eachtra.ie/index.php/journal/99e0757ext-stratham-garage-patrick-st-kilkenny-co-kilkenny/ 1


an extension to the original testing licence conducted in 1999 (Licence number for 2005 work:
99E0757ext).

5 Background to the current project
This site at Patrick Street, prior to excavation, was occupied by Stratham’s Garage. This building was
erected in the early 1900s and had lain derelict for some time. Lanigan and Tyler (1987) describe the
building, along with that of the adjacent South East Health Board building, as being out of propor-
tion with the surrounding Georgian terrace that lay along the eastern side of Patrick Street. The garage
was demolished prior to archaeological investigations and on arrival, only the façade fronting onto
Patrick Street remained. The site is located within the zone of archaeological potential for Kilkenny
City (Figure 2)

The initial archaeological impact assessment undertaken by Jacinta Kiely at the former site of Stratham’s
Garage in 1999 involved opening three trenches along the line of the proposed hotel foundations.
Trench 1 was T-shaped and was excavated to a depth of 0.9 m below the modern ground surface. A
layer of concrete and rubble was found to overlay the subsoil. Upon removal of the rubble layer, eight
possible pits were recorded in the base of the trench. Trench 2 was excavated to a depth of 1 m below
the surface. This uncovered a brown silty clay garden soil underlying the concrete that included post-
medieval glass, brick, slate, shell etc. An east to west orientated ditch was recorded in the base of the
trench, from the upper part of which a piece of Medieval pottery was recovered. A partly demolished
wall of roughly hewn limestone was encountered in the northern section of the trench. Trench 3 was
excavated to a depth of 0.7 m. Two possible pits were recorded in the base of the trench, the eastern
end of which was disturbed by a concrete pipe (Kiely 2000). The discovery of archaeological deposits
in the three trenches opened led to the recommendation that the area of proposed development be
archaeologically excavated prior to development.

Initial plans for the development of the hotel were altered during excavation. In the original plans the
proposed area for the car park to the side and rear of the hotel were to be developed at the current
ground level, which that meant that excavation was only to take place on the northern half of the site
and at a small area adjacent to the southern wall. It was then proposed to drop the entire level of the
parking area by c.0.5. This resulted in the entire area of what was Stratham’s Garage requiring excava-
tion following the DoEHLG’s recommendations of a 0.5 m buffer zone around any general ground
disturbance. The DoEHLG was contacted and informed by of the changes from the original method
statement.



6 Historical background
To date, no archaeological evidence for prehistoric settlement has been uncovered in Kilkenny city,
suggesting that it was first occupied in historic times, and it has been a country town for as long as
historical records have existed (Bradley 1990, 63).

Kilkenny is a corruption of Cill chainnigh which means ‘Canice’s Church’ and owes its name to the
foundation of St. Canice’s Monastery in the 6th century AD. According to the Annals of Ulster, St.
Canice died c. 600 AD, but this date is based on later calculations (Bradley 1990, 64). There are dif-
ferent accounts of the life of St. Canice all of which were compiled in the 12th century. It is possible
that St. Canice himself founded the monastery but alternatively it may have been one of his disciples.
The monastery itself was founded on a small hill overlooking a fording point of the River Nore, at the
present location of Green’s Bridge.

Although St. Canice’s church provides the city of Kilkenny with its name, it was not the earliest
religious structure. A second church, St. Patrick’s, is also mentioned in a Life of St. Canice and was
located to the south, off what is now Patrick Street Lower, though nothing survives of it today (Farrelly
et al. 1993, 79). This church is known to have pre-dated St. Canice’s and was possibly founded in the
5th century, with a later dedication to St. Patrick (Bradley 2000, 1). Although nothing is known of this
early monastery there must have been a central church building. There is evidence for a surrounding
enclosure, similar to other ecclesiastical sites of this period, which can be seen in the curved pattern
of Vicar Street, St. Canice’s Place and Dean Street (Bradley 1995, 156). Although not present today,
a lane running north to Troy’s Gate of the then existing town wall is visible on Rocque’s map of 1758
(Figure 3) and traces a possible continuation north of the enclosure (Bradley 1990, 65). By the time of
the arrival of the Normans, a stone church was located at St. Patrick’s along with a round tower, which
would have been a later 11th or 12th century addition to the site (ibid., 66).

With the emergence of a powerful group known as the Osraige in the latter half of the first millen-
nium, Kilkenny began to increase in importance due to the fact that the central base of power for this
group comprised the fertile plains of Co. Kilkenny (Bradley 1990, 65). The location of the monastery
towards the centre of these lands, and at a fording point of the River Nore, meant that its success as
an ever growing settlement in size and importance was almost guaranteed (Bradley 1995, 154). By the
12th century, the successors to the Osraige, the Mac Gilla Patraic, held court at Kilkenny which sug-
gests that even in pre-Norman times the settlement served not just a religious function, but also an ad-
ministrative one (ibid., 156). This political importance most likely drew craftspeople and tradespeople
to the settlement, further increasing its importance.

The Anglo-Normans arrived in Ireland towards the end of the 12th century and quickly supplanted the
Mac Gilla Patraic in Kilkenny. At this time, settlement in the country consisted of ports established
by the Vikings and inland settlements concentrated around ecclesiastical sites. The Anglo-Normans
swiftly constructed a number of towns and boroughs around Ireland over the next hundred or so years,



indicating a large influx of people into the country. Kilkenny is one such city that saw the construction
of an Anglo-Norman borough in the town. The Normans were initially attracted to Kilkenny due to
its strategic location on land and riverine routeways (Bradley 2000, 2).

Kilkenny castle, most likely constructed on an earlier motte and bailey, was built in 1173 some 750m
south of St.Canice’s on a knoll overlooking a second fording point of the Nore. The existing structure
dates to some time in the 13th century and served as an aristocratic residence, administrative centre
and gaol (Bradley 2000, 2). The castle passed out of the Marshall family to the Norman de Clares in
the mid 13th century. It passed to the Butlers in 1391 and stayed with this family until 1969 when the
state took ownership (Bradley 1995, 158). Kilkenny Castle to the south and St. Canice’s to the north
effectively defined the boundaries of the town. It is around the castle that the borough of Hightown
or Englishtown was established with burgesses - the backbone of Anglo-Norman town planning – in
existence here by 1176 (Bradley 1990, 66). The earlier pre-Norman settlement centred on St. Canice’s
became known as Irishtown (Farrelly et al. 1993, 1), although care should be taken when referring to
these as ethnically separate areas (Bradley 1985, 446).

The 13th century saw large-scale development in Kilkenny, development which defined the town for
centuries to come. Richard Fitzgilbert de Clare undertook the initial Norman settlement of Kilkenny,
but it was not until his successor, William Marshall, visited Kilkenny in 1207 that much of the build-
ing works in the settlement commenced. In that year new foundation charters were issued to the town
(Farrelly et al. 1993, 1) and after Marshall negotiated with the Bishop of Ossary for the procurement
of the land between the castle and St. Canice’s, the settlement began to expand. The settlement was
centred on a single main street, High Street, which was wider in the centre to accommodate a market
in the town. The burgage plots along the street would have been well-suited for commercial premises
due to their narrow frontage area, allowing a large number of shops and houses to front onto the mar-
ket and the main street (Bradley 1985, 439). Once burgage plots had been handed out, it is quite pos-
sible that their boundaries remained unchanged for many years, although some plots may have been
divided or combined over time (ibid., 429) as owners bought or sold adjacent plots of land. It is also
during the middle of the 13th century that the first references are made to a third borough, Donagh-
more, which was located outside the town wall to the south of Hightown, at what is now the southern
end of Patrick Street. It is likely that a pre-existing settlement was located here prior to this centred on
St. Patrick’s Church.

The 13th century also saw the construction and renovation of a number of religious establishments,
some of which later served as parish churches. Between 1207 and 1225 a Franciscan monastery was
built in Hightown. Construction of an Augustinian priory commenced in 1211 and was completed
in 1220. This was the first religious structure to be located on the eastern bank of the River Nore. It
prompted the building of a road and a second bridge which linked the priory, and subsequent growth
of settlement, to the town (Bradley 2000, 4). The Dominican priory, or ‘Black Abbey’, was established
in 1225 outside the city walls and a small portion of it survives today (ibid., 4). St. Mary’s Church pos-



sibly began as a chapel for those living close to the castle and would have been established soon after
the foundation of Hightown at the end of the 12th century. It later grew into a large Medieval parish
church with council meetings and town plays performed here (ibid., 3). Perhaps the most impressive
religious structure to be constructed in the 13th century was the Cathedral, built at the location of the
earlier Canice’s church by Bishop Hugh de Rous. Building of the various sections continued through-
out the 13th century, long after de Rous’ death (Bradley 2000, 5). The Cathedral is the only religious
structure to have been constructed in the Borough of Irishtown and continues to dominate the area
to this day.

Construction of town walls around Hightown also began in the 13th century, probably instigated by
William Marshall after his visit in 1207, though they were not completed for many years. The final
completion of the town walls is dated to 1400 and attributed to Robert Talbot, a man about which
little is known (Prim 1949-51, 36). The walls are known to have been in a near perfect state in the 18th
century as represented on Rocque’s map of 1758 (Figure 3) (Birthistle 1966, 5), although only small
sections survive at present. There are 11 known murage grants from Kilkenny dating to between 1250
and 1460 (Bradley 1990, 70) which suggest ongoing work on the walls. These grants were provided
by the king and gave towns the right to impose tolls and taxes for the purpose of building the town’s
defences, in order to lessen the cost to the inhabitants. Kilkenny Castle was incorporated into the
southern line of the town wall, as often seen where castles are located at the edge of towns (Bradley
1985, 444). The western town wall ran along a natural ridge that commanded the approach from that
side. The northern wall formed the boundary with Irishtown. There was no eastern wall as the river
ran along this side creating a natural boundary. In total, the Hightown wall encompassed an area
of roughly 29 hectares (Farrelly et al. 1993, 7). That the construction of the town walls took such a
substantial length of time is evidenced by the fact that the wall is of varied thickness and the four
known towers – only one of which survives – were of different types. This lack of uniformity suggests
that the long length of time needed to build the walls resulted in a lack of continuous planning in
their construction (Bradly 1985, 442). Seven gates are known to have existed along the length of the
wall: one at the border to Irishtown, three along the western wall, one at John’s Bridge and two in the
southern wall. The gates in the southern wall were located next to the castle with a second on Patrick
Street, roughly between Upper and Lower Patrick Street The latter was demolished at the end of the
19th century (Kenealy 1948, 34).

Irishtown was protected by its own set of defences, although these were neither as substantial nor as
well maintained as those of Hightown, and little is known about them (Kenealy 1948, 32). It has been
suggested though that these walls were completed prior to 1400, therefore before the completion of the
Hightown wall. Four gates were located in the defences surrounding Irishtown. As with the Hightown
walls, no wall was present to the east as the River Nore provided sufficient natural defence.

During the 14th century Kilkenny saw a period of decline with the outbreak of the Black Plague. It
was not until the 16th century when the Butler family were reinstated that the town once again began



to expand (Bradley 1995, 151). Prior to this, Kilkenny was ruled by a number of rich merchant fami-
lies. These families constructed many of the stone houses of Kilkenny, such as Rothe House on High
Street. It was the work of these families in 1609 that secured the elevation of Kilkenny to city status
by James I (Farrelly et al. 1993, 2), although this was revoked in 1650 with the Cromwellian invasions.
After its capture by Cromwell the importance of Kilkenny began to decline, although it was granted
university status in 1690. The rise of Dublin and Waterford meant that Kilkenny would never again
be the administrative centre it had been in the past. By the 18th century it had become a quiet country
town, despite the development of some new industries.

In 1843 the boroughs of Irishtown and Hightown were joined to form a single city with one corpora-
tion and although much had changed, the basic layout of the city remained constant to the early street
pattern set out by the Normans, as can be seen by the first edition ordnance survey map and 1872 5ft
map (Figure 4 & 5).



7 Patrick Street: recent archaeological investigations
A large number of testing and excavation works have been undertaken on Patrick Street and the area
around Pennyfeather Lane/Pudding Lane and St. Mary’s/ St. Patrick’s Ward between 1990 and 2002.
The following descriptions are taken from www.excavations.ie; the Excavations Bulletin numbers are
given first.

1990:078 Test excavation by Heather King at Pennyfeather Lane/Pudding Lane and St Mary’s/ St
Patrick’s. Eighteen trenches were opened on the site, the front area of which was disturbed. Evidence
for Anglo-Norman occupation was uncovered at the rear of the site along with part of the foundations
of the Medieval town wall and the town ditch, possibly dating to the 13th / 14th centuries.

1995:171 Test excavation undertaken by Margaret Gowen Ltd. at Pudding Lane (Licence 95E224).
Five trenches were opened, with a cobbled surface being uncovered.

1997:305 Patrick Street/Pudding Lane/Pennyfeather Lane. Nine test trenches were excavated by Judith
Carroll (Licence 97E468). Medieval pottery and slag was recovered from the layers and the remains of
a wall were uncovered, along with a possible 17th – 18th century ditch.

1998:356 26-29 Patrick Street Archaeological excavation located in the back gardens of nos. 26-29
Patrick Street and at house no. 26 by Judith Carroll (Licence 98E0092). A dense concentration of pits
was excavated with a possible 12th – 16th century date, along with a large possible palisade trench.

1998:357 Excavation at 33 Patrick St, undertaken by Judith Carroll (Licence 98E0402) led to the
discovery of a dense concentration of medieval pits.

1998:358 Excavation at Patrick Street/Pudding Lane/Pennyfeather Lane (Licence 97E0468) by Judith
Carroll. Five areas were excavated with the discovery of a large number of medieval and post-medieval
pits and linear features, the foundations of earlier walls, structural trenches, hearths, metal working
evidence and undated human remains, both articulated and disarticulated.

1999:451 Eachtra Archaeological Projects undertook further excavations at 26 Patrick St under licence
99E0165. During this work a number of medieval pits were excavated and recorded along with the
foundations of a post-medieval building.

2000:0547 Eachtra Archaeological Projects conducted further excavations at 33 Patrick Street in 1999
following design changes under licence 98E0402ext. A number of large deep pits were excavated
which were interpreted to have served a variety of functions, from domestic cess pts to industrial pits.
Two small drying kilns and iron working evidence were also recorded on the site.

2000:0548 Eachtra Archaeological Projects conducted further excavations at Patrick Street/Pudding



Lane/Pennyfeather Lane in 1999 under an extension to licence 97E0468. This additional area was
composed of a cluster of intercutting pits, with the partial remains of a post-medieval building.

In 2002 Daniel Noonan conducted an impact assessment at 101 Patrick St under licence 02E1570. The
five trenches opened contained no archaeological remains.

Overall, excavations over the past 10 years along Patrick Street have produced similar archaeological
material characterised by large numbers of densely concentrated medieval pits in addition to a number
of linear trenches and ditches. The pits served a variety of functions, from domestic cesspits to in-
dustrial metal working pits and hearths. Although structural remains of buildings and floor surfaces
were recorded, these date to the post-medieval period and there is no structural evidence for the early
Anglo-Norman occupation that founded Patrick Street.

8 Patrick Street: the cartographic evidence
 On the Down Survey Map of c. 1655 the street is represented by a dotted line leading to Patrick
Gate (Figure 6).
 Rocque’s map of Kilkenny dating to 1757 depicts buildings on both sides of the street continu-
ing outside the town walls. The site is visible on the map as a large building fronting onto Patrick
Street, with gardens to the rear (Figure 3).
 The 1841 OS map shows buildings fronting onto Patrick Street at the location of Stratham’s Ga-
rage with garden space to the rear (Figure 4).
 The Ordnance Survey 5ft Map of 1872 clearly shows the same buildings and garden plot located
at this site (Figure 5).
 The 1999 Ordnance Survey Map clearly shows the location of Stratham’s Garage prior to demoli-
tion. There has been a slight change in the northern boundary wall with the adjacent plot to the
north now being partially under the site of the garage (Figure 7).



9 Description of excavation
Most of the archaeological features recorded during this excavation were pits (Figure 8, Plate 1), al-
though ditches, furrows, walls and a cobble-stone surface were also investigated. Full contextual de-
tails are listed in the context register (Appendix 1) and the stratigraphic matrix (Appendix 2). The
catalogue of all artefacts found is in the finds register (Appendix 3) and specialist report on the pottery
is in Appendix 4. The results of analysis of environmental material is presented in the animal bone
report (Appendix 5) and the plant remains report (Appendix 6). Catalogues of clay pipes are in Ap-
pendix 7, metal artefacts are in Appendix 8 and stone artefacts in Appendix 9. Most of the contexts
were dated according to the artefacts retrieved from their fills. Therefore, pits with exclusively medieval
pottery were classified as medieval, whereas pits with medieval and post-medieval finds were classified
as post-medieval. However, as most of the excavated features were backfilled, it is possible that some
of the cut features that contained deposits with some post-medieval artefacts were actually open and
in use in the medieval period.

Although no definite boundaries delineating different medieval properties were recorded during exca-
vation, a combination of the existing boundary lines and the character of the archaeology in different
portions of the site suggests that this site represents portion of three (perhaps four) different medieval
burgage plots (Figures 8 and 9).

9.1 Property 1
The first property was located at the south-eastern part of the excavation site (Figure 8). Only a small
portion of this plot was available for excavation, the rest was filled by upstanding buildings. The exca-
vated portion covered an area that measured c.17.5 m by 11.25 m. The topsoil in this area was a good
quality garden soil (C.7) that covered much of the site and which would appear to be from the gardens
visible on the 18th and 19th century maps.

The medieval archaeology included three pits (C.212, C.223 and C.234). The only artefact type found
was pottery, predominantly Kilkenny types, but also including Leinster Cooking Ware and a fragment
of possible Redcliffe (a type imported from the Bristol area). These are all indicative of a thirteenth
century date. The medieval pits in this property measured on average 1.83 m long, 0.98 m wide and
0.55 m deep.
The post-medieval archaeology included the post-medieval pits (C.226 and C.228) and a ditch C.235.
The pits measured on average 1.51 m long, 1.23 m wide and 0.3 m long. Both were very shallow and
they were truncated by a modern concrete and iron cellar. The finds from these pits included Kilkenny-
type wares, Leinster Cooking Ware, brick fragments and a clay pipe stem.

The ditch C.235 was uncovered at the extreme edge of the excavation running east to west, and con-
tinued off site in both directions (Plate 2). Only the northern edge of the feature was visible as the
remainder lay under the southern edge of the excavation. It produced medieval pottery and animal
bone, as well as some post-medieval pottery sherds and brick.



A furrow (C.221) traversed the site, visible for 16 m before it disappeared under the baulk at both the
eastern and western edges of the excavation. No dateable artefacts were retrieved from this feature.
It ran parallel to another furrow, C.239, just near the boundary between Property 1 and Property 2,
and two furrows C.241 and C.243 excavated in Property 2. All of these features share a roughly east
to west alignment and they occur only at the eastern end of the archaeological site (Plate 3). All are
undateable, but they suggest a common use of the land in this part of the site.

9.2 Property 2
The second property was located to the north and north-west of Property 1, and it covered an area of
43.75 by 8.25 m (Figure 8). The overburden in this area consisted of good quality loose topsoil (C.7),
most likely from the rear gardens visible on the 18th and 19th century maps.

Fourteen medieval pits were excavated in this property (C.193, C.251, C.257, C.283, C.358, C.360,
C.374, C.376, C.378, C.382, C.392, C.394, C.400 and C.407) including one pit that was re-cut
(C.255). On average, the pits measured 1.67 m in length, 1.33 m in width and 0.44 m in depth. They
generally contained a single fill and pottery sherds were the most common artefact types recorded.
These contexts were classified as medieval in date based on the pottery types recovered during exca-
vation. This included local wares such as Kilkenny-types and Leinster Cooking Ware, and imported
Ham Green B ware. These finds indicate a thirteenth century date.

The post-medieval archaeology in Property 2 comprised nine pits (C.322, C.364, C.366, C.368,
C.380, C.395, C.397, C.403 and C404). On average these measured 1.68 m in length, 1.17 m in
width and 0.38 m in diameter. The fills of these pits included re-deposited medieval wares and post-
medieval pottery such as Merida type and glazed red earthenware.

Several features of unknown date were excavated in this part of the site. No artefacts were found in
association with these contexts and therefore they could not be assigned to any period of occupation
at the site. The features included six pits (C.350, C.352, C.354, C.356, C.372 and C.384), one linear
feature (C.413) and two furrows (C.241 and C.243). The furrows were aligned in the same direction
as two furrows from Property 1 and these agricultural features are possibly all related to each other
(see above).

9.3 Property 3
This property was the largest plot available for excavation; it measured c. 55 by 12.5 m (Figure 8).
Situated to the north of Property 2, the archaeology in this property was very dense, in particular at
the eastern part of the plot, where a cluster of medieval and post-medieval pits was excavated. In gen-
eral the overburden in this property consisted of good quality topsoil (C.7), most likely from the rear
gardens visible on the cartographic evidence from the 18th and 19th centuries. However, at the western
portion of the site the over burden consisted of a mixture of post-medieval and early modern rubble



(C.6) that lay under the concrete floor of the garage. The north-west corner of the site was truncated
when deep excavation for petrol tank storage occurred during use of the site as a garage. The petrol
tank was still in situ at the time of excavation. The contrast between the concentration of archaeologi-
cal features at the eastern and western ends of this property is stark: there is a feature-rich area at the
east of the property (Plates 1 and 4), but at the west, archaeological features are much less frequent.
This is at least partially the results of truncation by activity at the garage. It may also be because the
pits at the eastern end of the plot acted as cess and waste disposal pits, and were kept as far from the
street and dwellings as possible. Because of the differences in the archaeology, the two ends of Property
3 will be examined separately here, with the area rich in archaeology referred to as Property 3a and the
truncated area referred to as Property 3b.

9.4 Property 3a
In total twenty pits in Property 3a were classified as medieval in date (C.100, C.102, C.105, C.113,
C.118, C.120, C.123, C.172, C.176, C.186, C.229, C.231, C.237, C.245, C.320, C.329, C.331, C.334,
C.336 and C.343). On average the pit dimensions were 1.98 m long, 1.33 m wide and 0.48 m deep. In
general the pits contained a single fill and pottery sherds were the most common artefact types. These
were mostly local Kilkenny-type wares but Leinster Cooking Ware was also found. A small quantity
of imported pottery was recovered, including sherds such as Minety-type, Saintonge and a fragment
of possible Redcliffe. These finds suggest that the pits dated from the thirteenth to the fourteenth cen-
turies (Appendix 4). The pits were classified based on the pottery recovered from the fills and/or their
stratigraphic relationship to other features.

Three pits (C.102, C.113 and C.120) had a form of cobbled stone lining on the base and sides and
loose cobbles frequently occurred in the base of the fills. All the finds recovered from these pits (mostly
Kilkenny type pottery and medieval nails) were medieval in date. Although these pits were filled with
waste, the cobble lining suggests that they originally had a different function, perhaps they were origi-
nally used as cess pits.

Two medieval layers (C.370 and C.371) were located in the eastern part of Property 3a; both contained
animal bone and charcoal and were 0.12m in depth. They are interpreted as medieval in date as all the
features, both medieval and post-medieval, in this portion of the site truncated these layers.

The post-medieval archaeology in Property 3a comprised sixteen pits (C.124, C.133, C.170, C.174,
C.178, C.195, C.197, C.216, C.259, C.275, C.277, C.279, C.281, C.338, C.340 and C.346) and a
ditch (C.179). The pits measured on average 1.41 m in length, 0.87 m in width and 0.75 m in depth.
Artefacts retrieved from these features included brick, clay pipe stems, post-medieval pottery (such as
Pearlware and Frechen) and re-deposited medieval pottery (Kilkenny types, Leinster Cooking Ware
and Saintonge).

A ditch (C.179) was found along the northern edge of the excavation area and it truncated two pits of



unknown date (C.130 and C.181), a medieval pit (C.172) and a post-medieval pit (C.174). Artefacts
and environmental material from the ditch included animal bone, medieval and post-medieval pot-
tery, glass and a metal object. It probably represented the boundary of the Property 3 burgage plot.

The modern features from the site included four pits (C.191, C.214, C.218 and C.220), dated either by
the retrieval of finds that dated to the twentieth century, or by stratigraphic relationships with other
material on the site. There was also a modern linear wall (C.286) which extended 18.5m north to south
across Properties 2 and 3. It was constructed from material that was apparently taken from an earlier,
post-medieval structure that was demolished and used as a base for this concrete structure. The wall
truncated many archaeological contexts in Property 3a.

Eight features excavated in Property 3a are of unknown date. There were six pits (C.130, C.136, C.138,
C.181, C.195 and C.197) and two linear features (C.183 and C.271). Most of the un-dated pits had
no relationship to other features and they contained no dateable artefacts. A linear ditch (C.183) was
possibly a continuation of the possible boundary ditch (C.179) although it was much deeper. C.271
was a small linear feature that truncated a pit (C.261) along the eastern edge. It was filled with C.272
and contained a possible whetstone (Figure 11).

9.5 Property 3b
Three medieval pits were excavated in Property 3b (C.146, C.297 and C.317). The average dimensions
of these pits were 1.5 m length, 1.01 m width and 0.32 m deep. The pits were classified as medieval
based on the pottery sherds (such as Kilkenny types and Leinster Cooking Ware) recovered from their
fills. In C.317 a large portion of a medieval pot (Kilkenny type ware) was preserved almost intact.
These finds indicated thirteenth century activity. No other medieval features were discovered in this
area of the site.

A cobble-stone surface (C.254) was uncovered at the western end of Property 3 (Plate 5). It was trun-
cated on all sides and was located over the top of a post-medieval sewage pipe that ran under Patrick
Street, indicating that it was post-medieval in date. The stones were well set into the underlying soil
and a gutter or gully ran east-west through the cobbles (Fig. 11). The material excavated from between
the stones (C.264) was firm in compaction with the odour of horse manure, suggesting that this had
been compacted between the stones during the use of the surface.

A number of post-medieval features were excavated beneath the level of the coble-stone surface (C.254).
Four inter-cutting pits (C.304, C.306, C.308 and C.310) and a linear feature (C.312) were found be-
neath the cobble-stones. The pits measured on average 0.99 m in length, 0.73 m in width and 0.29
m in depth. They were classified as post-medieval based on the artefact types recovered from their
fills (including Pearlware, Mottled Ware, Glazed red earthenware and brick). To the east of the cob-
ble-stone surface foundation stones for the corner of a post-medieval wall (C.295) were uncovered,
constructed of loosely coursed limestone (Plate 6).



At the extreme west of the site, a square limestone and brick coursed sewage area or lavatory was un-
covered with a slate flagstone floor (C.168) (Plate 7). This was infilled with post-medieval and early
modern rubble consisting of slate, glass, brick, 19th century pottery all in a matrix of organic soil
(C.192). In the western wall of the feature, a later addition of ceramic sewage pipe had been inserted
into the wall and packed in with bricks. Excavation revealed that this was connected to a slate-lined
culvert that ran along the length of Patrick Street.

There were also several features of unknown date, including twelve pits (C.141, C.148, C.150, C.151,
C.153, C.156, C.162, C.164, C.288, C.290, C.292 and C.315), and a sterile layer (C.314). As the ma-
jority of excavated features at this part of the property were post-medieval or modern, it is likely that
these features are also quite late.

9.6 Property 4?
Eight pits (C.143, C.159, C.198, C.202, C.206, C.208, C.210 and C.274) were located at the northern
edge of the site, beyond the northern boundary to Property 3 (Figure 8). It is likely that these features
relate to activity in another burgage plot. Most of these features contained either modern finds or no
dateable artefacts. The pit C.143 contained a single fill of dark brown burnt material with frequent
inclusions of burnt clay, indicating that the pit was backfilled with hearth or furnace waste (Plate 8). A
single isolated pit was located along the northern edge of excavation (C.274), probably within Property
4. The base of the pit contained a large number of cobbles, both loose and compacted into the base.
Excavations of the area to the north of these have recently been completed (11 Patrick Street Kilkenny,
06E0230) and the results from this should shed more light on the nature of the archaeology in this
part of the site.



10 Discussion
The area of Patrick Street was originally occupied in the late 12th century by the Anglo-Normans. The
archaeological evidence from this excavation supports this as no earlier material was recorded during
the course of the excavation.

The archaeological features excavated at the former site of Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street indicate
activity in this area from the medieval period through to post-medieval times. If we compare Rocque’s
map of 1758 (Figure 3) with the modern 1999 map (Figure 7) of the site it would appear that the
boundaries of the site have changed little. The southern and eastern boundaries appear much as they
were on the earlier map. However, the northern boundary has been altered, with about half of the
adjacent plot now being located under the former site of Stratham’s Garage. Although ditch features
C.179 and C.183 seem to be located in the approximate location of the boundary, the features are not
continuous and vary in depth. Also, C.179 truncated a number of pits in this area. A second possible
boundary ditch (C.235) was located in the south-east corner of Property 1, but as only a small section
could be excavated it was impossible to accurately determine its function. Nevertheless, by continuing
existing boundaries and combining this information with the spatial pattern of the medieval archaeol-
ogy, it was relatively simple to demonstrate that the site covered four separate medieval burgage plots,
with most of Properties 2 and 3 available for excavation, and only small portions of Properties 1 and
4 excavated.

The cartographic evidence from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries also indicates that the eastern
area of the site served as a garden, with the western area, fronting on to Patrick Street, being occu-
pied by buildings. The majority of the archaeological features were located in the garden areas. The
overburden across the entire site, with the exception of western part of Property 3b, was rich loose
brown topsoil, more typically seen in rural agricultural fields than in urban areas. This suggests that
Stratham’s garage simply laid concrete over this pre-existing garden soil horizons. Further evidence
for the gardens can be taken from the existence of parallel agricultural furrows (C221, C.239, C.241
& C.243) located at the east of the site in Properties 1 and 2. These suggest an agricultural as well as
aesthetic function for the gardens. The fact that the furrows cover two properties may indicate that any
boundary that existed between Property 1 and 2 was not in use by the time the furrows were made.

The majority of the cut features at the site were pits, c. eighty of these were excavated with artefactual
evidence suggesting that they dated to both the medieval and the post-medieval periods. Iron slag was
present in some of the pit fills, indicating that metalworking was carried out in the area, although the
small amount of industrial residues retrieved during this excavation suggests that it was on a small
scale. The large amounts of medieval and post-medieval pottery sherds, animal bones and metal ob-
jects found at the site suggest that the final use of most of the pits at the site was as a refuse dump. In
general, the fact that it was not possible to re-fit many of the sherds suggests that only partial vessels
were present in most of the deposits.



The medieval pits were primarily either rounded or sub-rectangular, with steep sides and flat base.
Some of the pits contained cobbled linings in the base and sides, although the reason for this is un-
known. Others contained a large amount of similar ‘cobbles’ in the base of the fill and can possibly be
interpreted as ‘soakaways’. All of the pits, whether lined, stone filled, or otherwise contained similar
fills and inclusions. This could indicate that they originally fulfilled different functions but finally were
infilled with the same (refuse) material.

The evidence from the excavation at Patrick Street Kilkenny suggests that the area originally formed
part of an Anglo-Norman burgage plot, which was intensively utilised. No evidence of a medieval
structure was recorded on site. Any form of medieval house site may have been destroyed during the
construction of the buildings that fronted onto Patrick Street or they may have been located further
west, under the footpath and/or road surface. The archaeological material recorded at Patrick Street is
comparable to that of earlier excavations in this part of Kilkenny city.

10.1 Pottery
Pottery from the site was examined by Clare McCutcheon (Appendix 4). A total of 823 sherds were
counted from the site (after re-fitting) and almost 90% of these were medieval wares, with types dating
from the late twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. The assemblage was predominantly local Kilkenny
Type wares, but Leinster Cooking Ware was also found. Imported ceramics included wares from Eng-
land (Ham Green B, Minety-type and possibly Redcliffe), France (Saintonge) and Belgium/Holland
(Flemish redware).

10.2 Animal Bone
The animal bone assemblage from this site was examined by Margaret McCarthy (Appendix 5). Cattle
were the most common domestic mammal. Body parts indicate that they were probably brought to the
town on the hoof, and slaughtered thereafter. Sheep bones followed cattle in order of importance. Age-
ing data from both cattle and sheep indicate that most were culled after reaching maturity, suggesting
that they were exploited for both their meat and their secondary products; hide and horns, and after
several years of milk yields. There was also some evidence for marrow extraction from late medieval
cattle and sheep bones, and butchery marks that indicated that cattle tongue was extracted in the late
medieval period. The medieval pits produced a relatively large sample of horse bones in comparison
to other contemporary urban sites and a number of these displayed butchery traces consistent with
the eating of horseflesh. Other domestic mammals included pig, with all skulls showing evidence of
smashing, probably for retrieval of the brains. There was evidence for suckling pig consumption, and
neo-natal pig bones from the late medieval period indicate that the animals were bred in the town.
Fowl included domestic fowl, goose and duck. The wild mammals included red deer and hare in the
medieval period, with rabbit occurring in the later medieval deposits. Marine species included cod,
haddock and ling. Domestic pets such as cats and dogs were also recovered in small quantities.



10.3 Plant Remains
The charred plant remains from this site were examined by Mary Dillon (Appendix 6). The medieval
samples contained roughly equal portions of wheat and oat, with very small quantities of rye and bar-
ley found. There were many weed seeds, including seeds from the knotgrass, goosefoot, daisy, sedge
and legume families. The post-medieval samples contained a large amount of wheat and much smaller
amounts of oats and rye. Barley was present in very large amounts in one sample. Two flax bolls were
identified and a large amount of weed seeds were found, including many from the knotgrass, goosefoot
and legume families.



11 Conclusion
Eachtra archaeological projects undertook excavation of Stratham’s garage in January and February
of 2005 under licence 99E0757, an extension to a pre-existing licence. In total some eighty pits were
excavated with a small number of linear features and post-medieval wall foundations, drains and a
cobbled surface also present. There was no evidence for a medieval structure in this area of the site and
many of the pits were filled with refuse. The excavated area was interpreted as the partial remains of
four medieval burgage plots. Recent excavations of the area immediately north and adjacent to this site
will hopefully provide material comparable to the results from the Stratham’s Garage site.



12 Bibliography
Birthistle, D. 1966. Gateways of the walls of Kilkenny. Old Kilkenny review, 18, 5-9.

Bradley, J. 1985. Planned Anglo-Norman towns in Ireland. In. H.B. Clarke and A. Simms, eds. History
of Urban origins in Non-Roman Europe: Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia
from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Part ii. BAR international series 255 (ii).

Bradley, J. 1990. The early development of the medieval town of Kilkenny. In. W. Nolan and K.
Whelan, eds. Kilkenny. History and society. Geography publications

Bradley, J. 1995. Kilkenny – The Faire City. In. C. Howard, ed. In Irish Cities. Dublin: Mercier Press,
150-163.

Bradley, J. 2000. Kilkenny. In. A. Simms, H.B Clarke and R. Gillespie, eds. Irish Historic Towns Atlas,
Royal Irish Academy.

S D Elder, S. D & Richardson, A. 2001. Final Report on Excavations to the rear of No. 33 Patrick
Street, Kilkenny, including Area six of the Patrick Street/Pudding Lane/Pennyfeather Lane
Development block. Aechtra Archaeological Projects unpublished report.

Farrelly, J, Loughran, A, and O’Reilly, B. 1993. Urban archaeological survey: County Kilkenny. Dublin:
Office of public works.

Kenealy, C.J. 1948. The Walls of Kilkenny. Old Kilkenny Review, 11, 32-38.

Kiely, J. 2000a. Archarological assessment report, former Stratham’s garage, Patrick St, Kilkenny.
Eachtra Archaeological Projects unpublished report

Kiely, J. 2000b. Archaeological excavation at No. 26, Patrick Street, Kilkenny. Old Kilkenny review,
52, 116-122.

Lanigan, K.M. and Tyler, G. (ed) 1987. Kilkenny: Its Architecture and History, Belfast.

Noona , D and Ryan, M. 2002. Archaeological assessment at 101 Patrick St, Kilkenny. Eachtra
Archaeological Projects unpublished report

Prim, J.G.A. 1849-51. The builder of the walls of Kilkenny. Royal society of antiquities in Ireland, 1,
34-37.

Smithwick, P. 1988. St Francis Abbey. Old Kilkenny review, 5, 521-525.



13 Figures

Figure 1: Extract from OS Discovery Series map. Site location highlighted.



Figure 2: Extract from RMP sheet KK019. Site location highlighted.



Figure 3: Extract from a map of Kilkenny, 1758, by John Rocque. Site location highlighted.



Figure 4: Extract from OS 1st Edition map, 1841, sheet 19. Site location highlighted.



Figure 5: Extract from OS 5ft map, sheet 19, 1872. Site location highlighted.



Figure 6: Down Survey map of 1655. Taken from Historic Towns Atlas No. 10



Figure 7: Extract from OS Irish Historic Atlas map of Kilkenny, 1999. Site location highlighted.


159

143

206
PROPERTY 4
151 210 202
148

153 162
198
183
141
179
181
150 174 179
186 274
164
146 172
115 118
195 102
288 123
306
120 329
308 297 124
290
PROPERTY 3 320
ISSUE 14: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237

310 138
229 100

323 281

105
216
275 331
325 214 279
218
338
245 133 277
220 231 343

237
340
1
34
191 261
259 176

336 363

400
403 189 334
189

8
19
374 370
392
376 394

283

413 PROPERTY 2

397 404 243
407 366
322
354 251

http://eachtra.ie/index.php/journal/99e0757ext-stratham-garage-patrick-st-kilkenny-co-kilkenny/
364
372
358 257
380 352
378 356 350 255
382 241
395 360

239

212 PROPERTY 1

223

221
234

226
228

235

0 5m

Figure 8: Post-excavation plan of the archaeological features at the Stratham’s Garage site, Patrick Street, Kilkenny.

26
Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny 99E0757 ext


Figure 9: Extract from 5ft map of Kilkenny with the outline of medieval properties shown



271
272

290
291

401
268

402

403
314
261

389

391
262

392
292

400
399
390
293
263
345

332
346

331
348

349
347

Figure 10: Sections through some of the excavated features
344

343

406

404
405

406

407
411
410
409
412
342

413
341



5 cm
Possible Whetstone
99E0757:08:05

0

Figure 11: Drawing of possible whetstone from a linear feature C.271
5 cm
99E0757:249:03
Flint

0



14 Plates

Plate 1: General photograph of Property 3a, taken from the east

Plate 2: Ditch C.235 from south-west



Plate 3: Furrows in Properties 1 and 2 from north

Plate 4: Pits in Property 3a, taken from the east



Plate 5: Cobble-stone surface C.254 from west

Plate 6: Wall C.295 from south-west



Plate 7: Sewage outlet C.168 from south

Plate 8: Section through pit C.143 from the south-west



15 Appendices


Archaeological Report - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny (Ireland)

Archaeological Report - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny (Ireland)

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (7)

Similar to Archaeological Report - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny (Ireland)

Similar to Archaeological Report - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny (Ireland) (20)

More from John Tierney

More from John Tierney (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Archaeological Report - Stratham’s Garage, Patrick Street, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny (Ireland)