ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: PROPOSED RESTRUCTURING AND RENOVATION OF THE SESSIONS HOUSE, LOGAN STREET, THOMASTOWN, CO. KILKENNY

CLIENT: KILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL, c/o BLUETT AND O DONOGHUE ARCHITECTS, JOHN STREET, KILKENNY

AUTHOR: CÓILÍN Ó DRISCEOIL MA MIAI

12.3.2020 ______

Kilkenny Archaeology 12 Parliament Street Kilkenny City

P. 056 7752200 E. [email protected] W. www.kilkennyarchaeology.ie ______

KILKENNY ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT, SESSIONS HOUSE, THOMASTOWN. CO. KILKENNY MARCH 2020

Client Kilkenny County Council. c/o Bluett and O'Donoghue Architects, John Street, Kilkenny

Document title Archaeological Assessment: Proposed Restructuring and Renovation of the Sessions House, Logan Street, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny

Issue number/date FINAL; 12.3.2020

Irish National Grid 658520 642004

Planning reference Pre planning

Archive location Kilkenny Archaeology, 12 Parliament street, Kilkenny

Report author Cóilín Ó Drisceoil MA MIAI

Disclaimer: All recommendations are subject to the approval of the National Monuments Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the planning authority. This document has been prepared for the titled project or named part thereof and should not be relied upon or used for any other project without an independent check being carried out as to its suitability and prior written authority of Kilkenny Archaeology being obtained. Kilkenny Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability for the consequences of this document being used for a purpose other than the purposes for which it was commissioned. Any person/party using or relying on the document for such other purposes agrees, and will by such use or reliance be taken to confirm their agreement to indemnify Kilkenny Archaeology for all loss or damage resulting therefrom. Kilkenny Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability for this document to any party other than the person/party by whom it was commissioned.

© Kilkenny Archaeology/the client 2020

------CÓILÍN Ó DRISCEOIL MA MIAI 12.3.2020

ii KILKENNY ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT, SESSIONS HOUSE, THOMASTOWN. CO. KILKENNY MARCH 2020

CONTENTS

FIGURES ______i

1. INTRODUCTION ______1

2. ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY ______1

2.1 Assessment Components______2

3. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND STATUTORY HERITAGE PROTECTIONS ______4

3.1 Description of proposed development ______4

3.2 Statutory Heritage Protections ______6

4. HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ______7

5. PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ______19

6. ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ______20

BIBLIOGRAPHY ______22

iii KILKENNY ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT REPORT LADY'S WELL STREET, THOMASTOWN, JUNE 2018

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: SESSIONS HOUSE LOCATION AND RECORDED MONUMENTS IN ENVIRONS 2 FIGURE 2: PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PLAN (BLUETT AND O'DONOGHUE ARCHITECTS) 3 FIGURE 3: PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT PLAN GROUND FLOOR (BLUETT AND O'DONOGHUE ARCHITECTS) 3 FIGURE 4: SITE LOCATION ON URBAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAP OF THOMASTOWN 5 FIGURE 5: SITE LOCATION ON RECORD OF MONUMENTS AND PLACES ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSTRAINT MAP SHEET 28 6 FIGURE 6: SESSIONS HOUSE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT SITE ON MAP OF MEDIEVAL WALLED TOWN OF THOMASTOWN (THOMAS 1992 II, 191). 9 FIGURE 7: SPUD-STONE REPUTED TO HAVE BELONGED TO THE MEDIEVAL KILKENNY GATE/YELLOW GATE ON THE TOWN WALL OF THOMASTOWN SOUTH SIDE OF MAUDLIN STREET, THOMASTOWN 9 FIGURE 8: STONE WALL ON PROJECTED LINE OF MEDIEVAL TOWN WALL RMP KK028-040011-- FROM NORTH 10 FIGURE 9: DETAIL OF 1791 MAP OF THOMASTOWN BY JOHN BYRNE WITH APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AREA ARROWED (MANNING 2008, FIG. 3) 11 FIGURE 10: LOCATION OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AREA ON FIRST EDITION 6-INCHES TO A MILE SCALE ORDNANCE SURVEY MAP (1840) SHEET 28 (EXTRACT). THE THOMASTOWN TOWNLAND BOUNDARY IS THOUGHT TO ROUGHLY FOLLOW, ON LAND, THE LINE OF THE TOWN WALL. 12 FIGURE 11: LOCATION OF PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AREA ON ORDNANCE SURVEY 25-INCH TO THE MILE MAP: CO. KILKENNY 28, X (SURVEYED IN 1901 AND REVISED IN 1948) (EXTRACT). 12 FIGURE 12: FRONT FACADE OF SESSIONS HOUSE TO LOGAN STREET, FROM WEST 15 FIGURE 13: FRONT FACADE OF SESSIONS HOUSE TO LOGAN STREET, FROM NORTH-WEST 15 FIGURE 14: REAR FACADE OF SESSIONS HOUSE, FROM NORTH 16 FIGURE 15: INTERIOR MAIN COURT CHAMBER SESSIONS HOUSE, FROM SOUTH 16 FIGURE 16: SESSIONS HOUSE BRIDEWELL FRONT FACADE FROM SOUTH 17 FIGURE 17: SESSIONS HOUSE BRIDEWELL REAR FACADE FROM NORTH 17 FIGURE 18: FIRST FLOOR CELLS PASSAGE IN SESSIONS HOUSE BRIDEWELL FROM SOUTH 18 FIGURE 19: SESSIONS HOUSE, AREA OF PROPOSED EXTENSION TO NORTH-EAST OF BUILDING, FROM EAST 21 FIGURE 20: SESSIONS HOUSE, AREA OF PROPOSED EXTENSION TO SOUTH OF BUILDING, FROM WEST 21

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1. INTRODUCTION This report details the results of an archaeological desk-top assessment of a proposal by Kilkenny County Council to restructure and renovate the nineteenth century Sessions House, Logan Street, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny for use as an educational facility (NGC 658520 642004, Figure 1). The assessment was undertaken in response to request from the client's representative Bluett and O'Donoghue Architects, to accompany a future Part VIII planning application for the subject site. The proposed development site is located within the area of archaeological notification, as defined in section 12 (3) of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994 (Recorded Monument), for the historic town of Thomastown RMP KK028-040------and is situated adjacent to the line of the medieval Town Wall of Thomastown RMP KK028-040011-- (Figures 4, 5). The Sessions House is included on the Kilkenny County Record of Protected Structures in the Kilkenny County Development Plan (reference C228) and on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (reference 12317058). Planning permission was granted to the Sessions House Arts Centre Forum for the conversion of the building to a Community Arts Centre in 2013 (Planning Register ref. P.13/410) but that project did not proceed. No archaeological assessment was undertaken for the 2013 planning application but one of its conditions of planning included for archaeological monitoring of development works. The present proposals have been the subject of an Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment by Bluett and O'Donoghue Architects, and the 2013 application was accompanied by an Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment by Blackwood Associates.

This report begins by detailing the methodology that was employed in its compilation and this is followed by documentation of the historical and archaeological background to the development area and its environs. Finally, an Archaeological Impact Statement with mitigation measures to address any potentially adverse affects is outlined.

2. ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY The assessment conforms to the methodologies recommended in ‘Framework and Principles for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage’ issued by the Dept. of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (1999). It is also in conformance with the

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requirements of the Kilkenny County Development Plan 2014-2020, section 8.3.1 of which states the following:

 To require archaeological assessment, surveys, test excavation and/or monitoring for planning applications in areas of archaeological importance if a development proposal is likely to impact upon in‐situ archaeological monuments, their setting and archaeological remains.

The content of the report is in compliance with the legislative frameworks of the National Monuments Acts 1930-2004, the Heritage Act 2000 and the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage (ratified by Ireland 1997).

2.1 Assessment Components This assessment comprised a desk-based study and site visit and photographic survey of the application area. The desk study aims to present, through a review of primary and secondary documentary sources (see bibliography), the archaeological and historical background to the proposed development area and to comprehensively describe the archaeological monuments that are present in the site's environs.

Site of Yellow/Kilkenny Gate RMP KK028-040011--

KK028-040023-8 Graveslabs Possible line of Town Wall RMP KK028-040011-- SESSIONS HOUSE KK028-040001- Church

RMP KK028-040021- Graveyard RMP KK028-040003- Tomb-effigial

Cross-High Cross KK028-040002-

Figure 1: Sessions House location and Recorded Monuments in environs

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Figure 2: Proposed development plan (Bluett and O'Donoghue Architects)

Figure 3: Proposed development plan Ground Floor (Bluett and O'Donoghue Architects)

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3. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND STATUTORY HERITAGE PROTECTIONS

3.1 Description of proposed development The Sessions House, Thomastown has been vacant since use by the Courts Service ceased in 2005. The property was subsequently transferred to Kilkenny County Council and planning permission was granted for the conversion of the building to a Community Arts Centre in 2013 (Planning Register ref. P.13/410). The 2013 project did not proceed but many of the alterations to the building granted permission at that time remain relevant to the current proposal. Additional elements include the insertion of a mezzanine within the former Court Room and the construction of small extensions to each side of the court room block at upper level. These modifications are considered to comprise material alterations to the permitted scheme and as such, approval is being sought from the Members of Kilkenny County Council under Part VIII procedures for the revised design.

The following works are proposed (Figures 2, 3): a) change of use from vacant courthouse/residence to educational facility b) construction of new mezzanine within the former court room c) removal of single-storey lean-to structure on the north side of the building and construction of extensions at ground and upper levels. d) removal of single-storey structure to yard on the south side of the building and construction of extensions at ground and upper levels e) restoration, alteration and refurbishment of the existing structures including, renewal of external renders, construction of new insulated concrete floors, renewal of roofs over entrance lobbies; refurbishment of eaves, gutters, downpipes; insulation of all roof spaces, repair of windows where feasible or replication incorporating slimline double glazing, alterations to internal layouts and internal and external door openings to improve accessibility and fire safety f) installation of new mechanical and electrical services

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Site location

Figure 4: Site location on Urban Archaeological Survey map of Thomastown

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Site location

Figure 5: Site location on Record of Monuments and Places archaeological constraint map sheet 28

3.2 Statutory Heritage Protections The proposed development site is located within the area of archaeological notification, as defined in section 12 (3) of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994 (Recorded Monument), for the historic town of Thomastown RMP KK028-040------and is situated adjacent to the line of the medieval Town Wall of Thomastown RMP KK028-040011-- as demarcated in the Urban Archaeological Survey of County Kilkenny and in the Record of Monuments and Places maps (Figures 1, 4, 5). When the owner or occupier of a property, or any other person proposes to carry out, or to cause, or to permit the carrying out of any work at or in relation to a Recorded Monument or a Registered Monument they are required to give notice in writing to the Minister 2 months before commencing that work. This is to allow the National Monuments Service time consider the proposed works and how best to proceed to further the protection of the monument. Section 8.3.1 of the Kilkenny County Development Plan 2014-2020 states the following objectives in relation to Recorded Monuments:  Endeavour to preserve in situ all archaeological monuments, whether on land or underwater, listed in the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP), and any newly discovered archaeological sites, features, or objects by requiring that archaeological remains are identified and fully considered at the very earliest stages of the development process and that schemes are designed to avoid impacting on the archaeological heritage.  To require archaeological assessment, surveys, test excavation and/or monitoring for planning applications in areas of archaeological importance if a development

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proposal is likely to impact upon in‐situ archaeological monuments, their setting and archaeological remains.  Ensure that development within the vicinity of a Recorded Monument is sited and designed appropriately so that it does not seriously detract from the setting of the feature or its zone of archaeological potential. Where upstanding remains of a Recorded Monument exist a visual impact assessment may be required to fully determine the effect of any proposed development.  Require the retention of surviving medieval plots and street patterns and to facilitate the recording of evidence of ancient boundaries, layouts etc. in the course of development.  Safeguard the importance of significant archaeological or historic landscapes from developments that would unduly sever or disrupt the relationship, connectivity and/or inter‐visibility between sites.

In addition, as a consequence of the site's location adjacent the line of the Town Wall of Thomastown the policies and objectives in the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht's National Policy on Town Defences (2008) apply. No works are proposed on the specific line of the Town Wall. The Sessions House is also included on the Kilkenny County Record of Protected Structures in the Kilkenny County Development Plan (reference C228) and on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (reference 12317058). The relevant provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000 thereby apply to the development.

4. HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

The Sessions House is located on Logan Street, on the east side of the medieval walled town of Thomastown (Figure 1). The medieval borough of Thomastown was founded by Thomas Fitz Anthony, a knight in the mesnie of William Marshal, lord of Leinster and earl of Pembroke, in the early thirteenth century as a commercial venture and re-shipment point for Kilkenny, 15km to the north. The town was provided with a substantial parish

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church from the early 1200s, along with a market place, burgage plots, quayside and a castle at nearby Grenan. In the mid-late thirteenth century a masonry Town Wall was constructed around the core of the medieval town (Carrigan 1905 iv, 258-59; Pilsworth 1951, 36; Pilsworth 1952, 2-3; Thomas 1992 ii, 190-92; Farrelly et al 1993, 184) (Figure 6). Standing remains of the Town Wall (RMP KK028-040011--) are present in the south- west of the town, stretching from the river Nore up to Mill View House and there is also what appears to be a section incorporated into the buttress of a house fronting Low Street, on the northern side of town. The section in the south-west of the town is up to 1.15m wide and 1.45m high; along this stretch are the remains of a possible bastion or turret in the garden of Mill View house. Little is known about the eastern circuit of the Town Wall but it is regarded by Thomas (1992 ii, 191) and Farrelly et al (1993, 184) as being represented by the line of the Thomastown townland boundary, which forms the eastern boundary of the proposed development area (Figures 1, 6, 10). The present wall at this location is a substantial masonry structure bonded with lime mortar, which could conceivably incorporate medieval fabric relating to the Town Wall, although no diagnostic architectural features are visible within its makeup (Figure 8). A gate known variously as the Kilkenny Gate/Yellow Gate was situated on the north side of Logan Street/junction with Maudlin Street (Thomas 1992 ii, 190). A large spud stone thought to be associated with this gate was found in the early 1930s during roadworks and is set into a small public garden on the east side of Maudlin Street (Figure 7). Medieval suburban development outside (east of) the Kilkenny Gate was documented in archaeological excavations on Chapel Lane, Thomastown in 1997 (Murtagh 1998). The parish church (KK028-040001-; National Monument ref. 191) of the borough of Thomastown, dedicated to Saint Mary, is situated 100m west of the proposed development site (Carrigan 1905 iv, 259-65; Hunt 1974 i, 198, iii, pl. 36; Farrelly et al. 1993, 184) (Figure 1). Generally dated to the mid thirteenth century on architectural grounds, the church today is limited to part of its west gable, north wall, north aisle and chancel arch (Farrelly et al. 1993, 184). A First Fruits Church of Ireland church, remodelling into a dwelling-house, occupies its south arm. An Ogham Stone, which was reputedly been taken from the nearby River Nore, is reset at the base of the chancel arch and a 'Cornish-type' cross head is situated in the graveyard. A badly weathered thirteenth century effigy is to be found in the north wall of the chancel and the church also contains a number of medieval cross- slabs.

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Sessions House

Figure 6: Sessions House proposed development site on map of medieval walled town of Thomastown (Thomas 1992 ii, 191).

Figure 7: Spud-stone reputed to have belonged to the medieval Kilkenny Gate/Yellow Gate on the Town Wall of Thomastown South side of Maudlin Street, Thomastown

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Figure 8: Stone wall on projected line of medieval Town Wall RMP KK028-040011-- from north

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Figure 9: Detail of 1791 map of Thomastown by John Byrne with approximate location of proposed development area arrowed (Manning 2008, fig. 3)

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Figure 10: Location of proposed development area on first edition 6-inches to a mile scale Ordnance Survey map (1840) sheet 28 (extract). The Thomastown townland boundary is thought to roughly follow, on land, the line of the Town Wall.

Figure 11: Location of proposed development area on Ordnance Survey 25-inch to the mile map: Co. Kilkenny 28, X (surveyed in 1901 and revised in 1948) (extract).

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For 600 years Thomastown, situated at the head of navigation on the Nore, functioned as a trading depot, connecting Kilkenny city, the largest inland town in medieval Ireland, with the seaports of Waterford and New Ross, both of which had strong trading links with southwest England, Spain and France. A number of factors led to the demise of the inland port of Thomastown. Among these was the absence of regular maintenance works, which lead to the eventual silting-up of the river between Thomastown and Inistioge. By the mid-nineteenth century the commercial navigation that once linked these two towns had been severed and the newly established railway linking Kilkenny to Thomastown, Waterford and New Ross now facilitated the movement of commercial goods.

Logan Street originated in the medieval period as a thoroughfare that linked the river Nore waterfrontage with the Kilkenny road via the Yellow Gate/Kilkenny Gate. A list of forfeited property in Thomastown dating from about 1660 or slightly earlier includes a list of, generally low quality, tightly-packed dwellings, many in ruins, on the street at this time: '[27] Old ruined stone walls, breadth 25 ft., length 42, a small garden plot 8 perches, the former propriety of Michael Cantwell, Irish Papist, & now in the tenancy of the said George Andrewes, Protestant, worth for 31 years 10s per annum. [28] A thatched cabin, stone walls, breadth 18 ft., length 42, the former propriety of Thomas Denn, Irish Papist, William Neife, Irish Papist, tenant, worth for 31 years 15s per annum. [P. 3.] [29] A small garden plot, breadth 18ft., length 31, James Kelly, Irish Papist, proprietor. Richard Walsh, Papist, tenant, worth for 31 years 4s per annum. [30] A slated house, breadth 26 ft., length 43, a small garden plot 8 perches. James Kelly, Irish Papist, proprietor. Richard Walsh, Irish Papist, tenant, out of repair ?10 charge, worth for 31 years 3 10s per annum. [31] A thatched cabin, stone walls, breadth 16 ft., length 38. Another small thatched cabin, stone walls, breadth 21 ft., length 52, garden plots. Jone Archer, Irish Papist, proprietor & George Andrewes tenant, Protestant, worth to be let for 31 years 15s each per annum. [32] walls in breadth 22 ft., in length 84, a garden plot 10 perches. The proprietor. Dobbin, Irish Papist, & in the tenancy as aforesaid, charges to repair ?20, worth [for 31] years 3 15s per annum. [33] walls, breadth 30 ft., length 36. A small garden (MS has cabin) 7 perches, the former of David. Irish Papist & in the tenancy of Christopher Hewetson, Protestant, worth for 31 years 15s per annum.

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[34] A small demolished cabin, breadth 16 ft., length 29, which belonged to Peirce Codey alias Archdekin, Irish Papist, in the tenancy of Jonah Horocks, Protestant, worth for 31 years 5 s per annum. [35] A slated house, stone walls, in length 39 ft., breadth 23, the propriety & the tenancy aforesaid, out of repair to the value of 10, worth for 31 years 1 10s per annum. Part of the street aforesaid [36] A thatched house, stone walls, breadth 20 ft., length 39. The property of Peirce Linch, Irish Papist, in the tenancy of Robert Furr, Protestant. Charges to repair ?4, worth for 31 years 1 10s per annum. [37] A thatched house, stone walls, breadth 20 ft., length 44. William Dobbin, Irish Papist, proprietor. George Andrews, Protestant, tenant. Charges to repair ?4, worth for 31 years 1 10s per annum. [38] A [slated] house, stone walls, in length 40 ft., breadth 21. Edward Brode, Irish Papist, proprietor. tenant, charges to repair 8, worth for 31 years 2 10s per annum. [39].[t]hatched cabin length 47 ft., breadth 16, a garden 8 perches.street, the same proprietor & tenant, worth for 31 years 15s per annum. Part of the street aforesaid [40]. [wa]ll or house plot with a garden length 36 ft., breadth 20. Peirce Mc Codey proprietor, the said Andrewes tenant, worth for 31 years 10s per annum. [41]. thatched cabin, stone walls, breadth 16 ft., length 40, a small garden 5 perches & a half. The property and tenancy aforesaid & worth for 31 years 15s per annum. [42] An old house plot with a small garden, length 36 ft., breadth 31, the said Codey alias Archdekin proprietor. James Crenam, Irish Papist, tenant. A small thatched cabin, stone walls, breadth 16 ft., length 40 ft., with a garden plot 4 perches, all the propriety and in the tenancy aforesaid & worth for 31 years 1 5s per annum. [43] A slated house, stone walls, breadth 23 ft., length 34. A stable or outhouse and a garden 20 perches, charges to repair ?6. William Watton, Irish Papist, proprietor. Thomas Hill, Protestant, tenant. Worth for 31 years ?5 10s per annum. [P. 4.] [44] A house plot with walls standing, length 58 ft., breadth 25, a garden 20 perches in the tenancy & propriety aforesaid. Charges to repair ?10. Worth for 31 years ?1 per annum. [45] Old walls or house plot, breadth 18 ft., length 23. John Grace' (Manning 2008, 108-10).

It is not possible to determine which of the property plots was built upon for the Sessions House in the nineteenth century. However, on the 1791 map of Thomastown by John Byrne, the plot is shown as having formed part of the property of a Mr Deegan, who had acquired the property from a Mr Marsh, who in turn had obtained the properties that had been granted to Lord Masserene in 1668 (Manning 2008, 132) (Figure 9). The 1791 map also shows that the court house at this time was located at the junction of Maudlin Street/Logan Street (Figure 9).

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Figure 12: Front facade of Sessions House to Logan Street, from west

Figure 13: Front facade of Sessions House to Logan Street, from north-west

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Figure 14: Rear facade of Sessions House, from north

Figure 15: Interior main court chamber Sessions House, from south

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Figure 16: Sessions House bridewell front facade from south

Figure 17: Sessions House bridewell rear facade from north

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Figure 18: First floor cells passage in Sessions House bridewell from south

According to the 1828 Parliamentary Commissioners, the present court house or Sessions House was completed in 1825: 'in the year 1825 there was a court-house and small bridewell finished in Thomastown and from that period criminal business has been carried on in Thomastown' (Reports from Commissioners, volume 12 (1828), 122). The facade of the Sessions House faces onto Logan Street, and is set back from the medieval street line (Figures 12-15). The building is of three bays, dominated by the double height central bay of the neo classical-style Court Room. A single tri-partite central window is set in an elliptical headed recess and all the string courses, entablatures, copings, cills, steps and architraves are in high quality cut local limestone, probably obtained from the Colles Marble Mills at nearby Lavistown. At the top of the central bay an inscribed cut limestone band bears the name of the building. To the rear of the Sessions House, is the bridewell, a robust rectangular-plan masonry structure built to provide holding cells and prison facilities for the Sessions House (Figures 16-18). A comprehensive architectural description of the court house and its bridewell is contained in the Architectural Heritage

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Impact Assessment report and in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage entry for the building.1

In 1828 the presentments of the grand jury record that the Earl of Carrick paid £2 15s 4 1/2 d for the rent of Thomastown Sessions House and in the same year 'The Bridewell- keeper of Thomastown' was paid £4 12 s. and 3 3/4 d. for his services and £5 'for coals, candles etc.' (Presentments of the Grand Jury 1828, 118). The bridewell was rebuilt and enlarged around 1832, when a grant of £530 11s. 8d. was made by the Board of Works for its erection (First Annual Report of Commissioners of Public Works 1833). Fabric, including blocked opes, relating to the original bridewell can be seen in the north and south gables of the present building. Writing around 1837 Samuel Lewis described the court house as 'a neat modern building to which is attached a small bridewell' (Lewis 1837 ii, 621-2). Some of the petty sessions transacted in the court have been published by Marilyn Silverman (2000, 400-30). The 1840 first edition and 1948 revision Ordnance Survey maps show the outline of the Sessions House and rear bridewell (Figures 10, 11). An extension appears to have been added to the north-west of the Sessions House between the dates of the two maps. The buildings are largely unchanged today in layout and configuration from their depictions on the 1948 map. The maps also show what are probably the layouts of what were originally medieval burgage plots along both sides of the street (Figures 10, 11). The Sessions House functioned as a court house until 2005, at which time it was closed and subsequently transferred to Kilkenny County Council.

5. PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS The proposed development area has not been the subject of prior archaeological investigation. A number of archaeological investigations have taken place in the immediate environs of the site. Sixty-five metres to the north-east of the proposed development site on Chapel Lane, test excavations by Ben Murtagh uncovered evidence for extra-mural suburban activity in the medieval period, represented by quarry pitting, cess pits and trenches, which were backfilled with soils containing medieval pottery and

1 https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/12317058/thomastown-courthouse-logans-street-thomastown- thomastown-county-kilkenny

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iron slag (Murtagh 1998). Test excavations and subsequent archaeological monitoring at the former Comerford's Bakery site/rear of Carroll's Bar, Logan Street, 35m south-west of the proposed development site, in advance of a large residential development uncovered nothing of archaeological interest (Jordan and Lohan 2005; Lohan 2007). At Low Street, Thomastown, part of a nineteenth century garden wall was uncovered in monitoring (Purcell 2004).

6. ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The proposed development area on Logan Street is located within the area of archaeological notification for the medieval town of Thomastown RMP KK028-040---- and is situated adjacent the putative line of the medieval Town Wall of the town RMP KK028-040011-- (Figure 1). Cartographic and historical evidence both indicate that Logan Street originated as a medieval street and that it was occupied by a series of burgage plots that ran off the street-line. Previous archaeological investigations undertaken in the vicinity of the development site have uncovered evidence for medieval pitting and dumping. The proposed development site is presently occupied by a court house built 1825 and a bridewell, currently derelict, to its rear which was built around 1832 (Figure 12-18). Accordingly, archaeological structures, features, deposits and artefacts associated with the various landuses of the site from the medieval period onwards are likely to be present within the proposed development area. The client and design team, of which the author of this report is a member, have sought to produce an architectural and engineering scheme for the development that minimises its potential impact on archaeology. No works are proposed on the rear boundary wall of the site, which may be on the line of the medieval Town Wall. Aspects of the development that could potentially have an impact on archaeology within the site have, accordingly, been limited to the following:

1. Removal of single-storey lean-to structure on the north side of the building and excavation of foundations for the construction of extensions at ground and upper levels (Figures 3, 19).

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2. Removal of single-storey structure to yard on the south side of the building and excavation of foundations for the construction of extensions at ground and upper levels (Figures 3, 20).

3. Removal of existing floors and construction of new insulated concrete floors within existing Sessions House building (Figures 3, 15).

Figure 19: Sessions House, area of proposed extension to north-east of building, from east

Figure 20: Sessions House, area of proposed extension to south of building, from west

21 KILKENNY ARCHAEOLOGY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT, SESSIONS HOUSE, THOMASTOWN. CO. KILKENNY MARCH 2020

It is therefore recommended that a condition be placed on planning permission for the development to the effect that all groundworks associated with the proposed development are to be archaeologically monitored to mitigate against any potential archaeological impact:

‘this involves an archaeologist being present in the course of development works (which may include conservation works), so as to identify and protect archaeological deposits, features or objects which may be uncovered or otherwise affected by the works’ (Framework and Principles for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage, Dept. of Arts Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands 1999).’

An archaeological monitoring methodology should be agreed prior to commencement with the archaeological licensing section of the National Monuments Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carrigan, Rev. W., 1905, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, 4 vols., Sealy, Bryers & Walker, Dublin.

Hunt, J., 1974, Irish Medieval Figure Sculpture, 2 vols., Dublin and London.

Jordan, J. and Lohan, K., 2005, Architectural and Archaeological Assessment, Proposed Redevelopment Logan Street/Low Street/Market Street/Pipe Street, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny 05E253, planning reference 041470, Margaret Gowen and Co Ltd (unpublished report).

Lewis, S., 1837, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols, London.

Lohan, K., 2007, 'Logan Street, Thomastown', in I. Bennett (ed) Excavations 2006, Summary Accounts of Archaeological Excavations in Ireland, no. 1098, Bray.

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Manning, C., 2008, 'Forfeited properties in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny in the mid seventeenth century', The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Vol. 138, 105- 135.

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Pilsworth, W.J. 1952, ‘Thomastown’, Old Kilkenny Review 5, 1-9.

Pilsworth, W.J. 1953, Historical Thomastown and District, Kilkenny Archaeological Society, Kilkenny.

Purcell, J., 2004, 'Low Street, Thomastown', in I. Bennett (ed) Excavations 2003, Summary Accounts of Archaeological Excavations in Ireland, no. 1046, Bray.

Silverman, M., 2000, 'Custom, Courts, and Class Formation: Constructing the Hegemonic Process Through the Petty Sessions of a Southeastern Irish Parish, 1828- 1884', American Ethnologist, Vol. 27, No. 2 (May, 2000), 400-430.

Thomas, A., 1992., The Walled Towns of Ireland, 2 vols., Dublin.

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