Stillorgan Leisureplex Stillorgan Dublin 18 · the river Liffey has been well established, as has...

Archaeological assessment

Stillorgan Leisureplex Stillorgan Dublin 18

Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016

Planning and Development (Strategic Housing Development) Regulations 2017

By

James Kyle BSc HDip MIAI Archaeology and Built Heritage

Spade Enterprise Centre St. Paul's Smithfield

Dublin 7

For

Lafferty Architects and Project Managers Dundrum Town Centre

Sandyford Road Dundrum

Dublin 16

6 August 2019

Contents

List of figures and plates

Executive summary

Introduction 1

Proposed development 3

Historic and cartographic contexts 4

Archaeological context and previous archaeological excavations 8

Impact of proposed development 11

Conclusion and recommendations 12

References 13

List of figures and plates

Figures

Figure 1 Site location (ASI Historic Environment Viewer)

Figure 2 Draft plan of proposed development (John Spain Associates)

Figure 3 Extract from the Down Survey map 1654-56, approximate site location circled

Figure 4 John Rocque, ‘An actual survey of the County of Dublin …’ 1760

Figure 5 Ordnance Survey, Sheet 23, 1837

Figure 6 Ordnance Survey, 1909

Figure 7 RMP sites within 400m of the proposed development

Plates

Plate 1 Existing view of Leisureplex and car park, facing north (January 2019)

Plate 2 Existing structure and car park, facing northeast (January 2019)

Executive summary

This document comprises an assessment of the archaeological risk associated with a proposed

Strategic Housing Development (SHD) at the site of the Stillorgan Bowl/Leisureplex in the

townland of Woodland, Stillorgan, County Dublin. The assessment was undertaken on behalf

of Lafferty Architects and Project Managers in advance of a proposed planning application to

An Bord Pleanála.

The site’s morphology is determined using historical mapping and information derived from

previous archaeological investigations in the vicinity, where a walk-over survey did not reveal

any features on the ground which may have a possible archaeological provenance.

The location of the proposed development occupies the site of The Grove, a large, possibly

Georgian house, the former residence of architect Edward Lovett Pearse, which was

demolished in the early 1960s. The development site is not located within the constraint zone

of any sites or monuments noted in the statutory Record of Monuments and Places (RMP).

Within the wider landscape there is evidence for diffuse yet sustained archaeological settlement

and activity: within a 1km radius there were six sites noted on the RMP.

On the basis of the above, it is recommended that licensed archaeological monitoring be

undertaken over the initial ground reduction programme.

Archaeological assessment Leisureplex site, Stillorgan, Dublin 18 ___________________________________________________________________________________

06.08.2019 1 Lafferty Architects and Project Managers

1 Introduction

1.1 This report comprises an archaeological assessment undertaken on the

Leisureplex/Stillorgan Bowl site, an area of 0.79 hectares, which occupies much of the

corner formed by the Old Dublin Road and the Lower Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, Dublin

18. The proposed development is bounded to the north by the St. Laurence Park road,

to the east by the Stillorgan Library, to the south by the Lower Kilmacud Road and to the

west by an existing mixed use commercial and residential unit which is not part of the

proposed planning application.

1.2 The proposed development site is not located within the constraint zone of any site or

monument noted in the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP), however within the

wider landscape there is evidence for diffuse yet sustained archaeological settlement

and activity; inside of a radius of 1km from the proposed development there are six sites

noted on the RMP map.

The immediate area is zoned ‘Objective DC’ (Objective District Centre) on the Dún

Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Development Plan 2016-2022 with the land use

zoning objective ‘to protect, provide for and-or improve mixed-use district centre

facilities’. Uses such as residential, retail and restaurant are ‘permitted in principle’ under

this zoning objective. Additionally the Local Area Plan (LAP 2018-2024) for Stillorgan is

due to be released shortly and this coupled with the current Development Plan 2016-

2022 will provide the planning context for the proposed development.

Figure 1 Site location (ASI Historic Environment Viewer)



Plate 1 Existing view of Leisureplex and car park, facing north (January 2019)



2 Proposed development

2.1 The proposed development will comprise the demolition of the existing structure, the two

storey Stillorgan Bowl/Leisureplex building and the removal of its associated car park,

to be followed by the construction of a development comprising a mixed-use scheme of

residential units (232 apartments), two retail units of 1049m2 gross combined and

cafés/restaurant units (806.3m2), along with tenant amenity floorspace of 1021.5m2.

Additionally, a double level basement is to be provided below the scheme comprising

162 parking spaces: Basement – 1 (66 spaces) and Basement – 2 (96 spaces). The

basement car park on site will be accessed via a two way access to/from St Laurence’s

Park and via a left in/left out access on Lower Kilmacud Road.

Figure 2 Ground floor plan of proposed development (O’Mahony Pike)



3 Historic and cartographic contexts

3.1 Although there are no published references to the site during the pre-historic period,

scant evidence for the human occupation of the immediate vicinity and a paucity of

archaeological excavations, the presence of archaeological features and settlement

evidence on the site cannot be ruled out. The presence of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers

elsewhere in the greater Dublin area, on the Dublin Bay coastline and in the valley of

the river Liffey has been well established, as has the settlement of the general area

throughout the remainder of the pre-historic period.

The only known site dating to the pre-historic period in reasonably proximity to the

proposed development is DU023-012002, a Bronze Age flat cemetery, located 310m to

the east, which was uncovered during the nineteenth-century renovation of Stillorgan

Castle. This type of funerary site usually dates to 2500-1500BC.

3.2 An examination of the available cartographic sources demonstrates that the

development site was effectively located in what Pearson (1998) describes as the

original settlement of Stillorgan, this was clustered along the old Dublin-Bray road and

located at the bottom of a steep hill. Stigh Lorgan, also Stigh Lorcáin and previously Tigh

Lorcáin or Teach Lorcáin all refer to the house (church) of Lorcan, who is suggested by

some to be St. Laurence O’Toole, where St. Laurence’s parish church is usually

ascribed to him. The original Gaelic placename for Stillorgan, Athnakill, means ‘place of

the church’ and Stillorgan is noted as a settlement which owes its origins to the presence

of an early medieval ecclesiastical site by Simms and Fagan (1992, 86, Figure 2) and

indeed as a civil parish of the same origins. What is unclear is whether the institution in

question was the site of the ecclesiastical site/monastery (DU023-007), located 250m to

the north of the proposed development or, more likely, the ecclesiastical enclosure

(DU023-011004), located 350m to the south. Here, the medieval church and grave slabs

and curving walls would suggest an early medieval enclosure.

3.3 The village of Stillorgan is noted as a manorial village and some surviving medieval texts

refer to the area as being under betagh tenure. The term betagius was used during the

medieval period to denote an unfree tenant, or layman and the term was used by the

Anglo-Normans in Ireland with the individual it referred to being almost without exception

of Irish origin and the term is seen as the equivalent of the English term Villein. Villeins

in medieval England had more rights and status than those in slavery, but were under a

number of legal restrictions which differentiated them from the freeman. The manor of

Stillorgan was held by the Cruise family in the fourteenth century, who passed it to the

Derpatricks, before it found its way into the hands of the Fitzwilliams (Stokes 1895, 5-

15).



3.4 The general area of the site is illustrated on the Down Survey map of Barony of

Rathdown (1657, Figure 3), with the placename noted, as is a road (presumably the old

Dublin-Bray road), with a house and castle illustrated on its eastern side of; it is

suggested that these potentially represent the medieval house (DU023-012001) and

Castle (DU023-071) noted on the RMP mapping.

Figure 3 Extract from the Down Survey map 1654-56, approximate site location circled

3.5 The old Dublin road is readily recognisable on Rocque’s map of 1760 (Figure 4) where

a house and plot of land are illustrated on the corner of what appears to be the Lower

Kilmacud road. The Grove as it was known at that time, was the residence of Sir Edward

Lovett Pearce (1699-1733). The chief exponent of palladianism in Ireland, he is best

known for the Houses of Parliament in Dublin and his work on Castletown House. The

Grove was a large house (subsequently known as Tigh Lorcain Hall-Stillorgan Hall)

which was replaced by the Stillorgan Bowling Alley in 1963 (Craig, 2004).The Parliament

was near enough completed in 1731 for sessions to be held there and following the

acclaim given to the new building in 1732 Pearce was knighted, this honour was followed

swiftly by the freedom of the city of Dublin in 1733. Lovett Pearce was then at the height

of his success and popularity, however within weeks of receiving the freedom of Dublin,

he was struck down with an abscess and died of septicaemia 16 November 1733 at his

home. His remains were buried 10 December 1733 in St Mary's Graveyard, Donnybrook.

Slightly further to the east on Rocque’s map was a house annotated as Councillor

Cooley’s House and it is suggested, due to its location, that this was Stillorgan Castle

and it is annotated on the RMP as a medieval house (DU023-012001). During the

sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Wolverston family owned Stillorgan Castle and

in the late seventeenth century ownership passed to the Allen family, prior to the lands



and houses being purchased by the order of St. John of God in 1882. Pearse’s house

and its plot appear again on the first edition Ordnance Survey (where it was noted as

Grove House) and they appear to occupy the entirety of the proposed development site

(Figure 5).

Figure 4 John Rocque, ‘An actual survey of the County of Dublin …’ 1760

Figure 5 Ordnance Survey, Sheet 23, 1837



3.6 The Stillorgan area remained predominantly agricultural in nature throughout the post-

medieval period, with small farms depicted on contemporary maps, where some of the

local inhabitants presumably found work on the estates of the larger houses in the area.

The picture of Stillorgan village painted by Thom’s Directory in 1850 is that of a small

rural settlement, with a teacher, shoemaker, vintner, two dairies, two blacksmiths, a

painter, a glazer, a grocer, a tailor, a mason, a medical attendant, two builders and a

post mistress and the ubiquitous police barrack.

During the latter half of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth centuries the

largest single employer in the Stillorgan area would have been Henry Darley’s Brewery.

Built on land leased from the Fitzwilliam estate and close to the present day

Dunstaffnage House, the brewery was surveyed by John Langfield in 1831 and was

found to be quite extensive in nature, with a mill, several brew houses, a malt store, a

malt kiln, a big malt house, a range of stables and a barn, a beer store, a cooperage, an

office and a mill pond, with two houses and associated gardens.

Many of the larger houses mentioned above have been demolished in the intervening

years, Oatlands, Beaufield, Mount Merrion, Fortwilliam, Ashurst and Temora have all

disappeared, Stillorgan Castle was destroyed accidentally by fire in 1908, having been

taken over by St. John of God’s, whilst Stillorgan (Tigh Lorcan) Hall/Grove House/The

Grove itself made way for the bowling alley, where Pearson described the house as

being a plain house of Victorian appearance (1998, 272).

Figure 6 Ordnance Survey, 1909



4 Archaeological context and previous archaeological excavations

4.1 The recorded monuments in the immediate vicinity of the proposed development are

reasonably diffuse however their presence does serve to underline that the area has

been occupied from at least the Bronze Age period. There are six recorded monuments

within 1km of the site (see table below and Figure 7).

RMP No. Townland Classification Description DU023-007 Woodland Ecclesiastical site Situated in a flat urban site

between the N 11 Stillorgan Road and the Old Dublin Road. Noted as a 'Monastery (in ruins)' on the 1937 OS 6-inch map edition. There are no visible surface remains.

DU023-012001

Stillorgan Grove Medieval house Situated in a flat urban site. Site marked as 'Stillorgan House' the site may mark the location of the original manor house, or main residence of the lord of the manor, which by 1360 was occupied by Sir John Cruise. The Wolverston family resided here during the 16th/17th century between the dissolution of the monasteries and the Cromwellian period. Stillorgan House is mentioned in the Depositions of 1641 (Stokes 1895, 8-9). Improvements were made to that house in 1684 by Sir Joshua Allen, said to be a master builder. In 1695 the then owner Viscount John Allen replaced the fortified manor house with a large mansion. This was described as "a house with wings containing, on one side a miniature theatre and on the other side, the stables and enclosing in the centre a large courtyard, the gardens were so extensive as to cover 12 acres and were laid out in the old fashioned style" Internally it was recorded as having a splendid mantelpiece, representing the judgement of Solomon (Stokes 1895, 9). A water-colour owned by Mr Verschoyle which depicts the house, shows a seven-bay two storey mansion over semi-basement, with projecting front gables either end of the façade and with side wings attached to the main house by rails. There were dormer windows in the attic storey and large chimneystacks. Demolished c. 1880. No visible surface remains.

DU023-012002

Stillorgan Grove Flat cemetery Situated in flat open ground now built on. A flat cemetery of several urns and a cist burial discovered during the construction of Stillorgan House (Price 1940, 125;



Waddell 1970, 116). Not visible at ground level.

DU023-011004

Stillorgan South Ecclesiastical enclosure

Situated in an urban site to the N of the junction of Stillorgan Road and Merville Road. The curving plan of the present walled-in graveyard (DU023-011002-) associated with the site of a medieval church (DU023-011001-) and graveslab (DU023-011003-) indicates the possible existence of an early ecclesiastical enclosure (DU023-011004-).

DU023-011001

Stillorgan South Church Situated in an urban site to the N of the junction of Stillorgan Road and Merville Road on a low rise overlooking the surrounding graveyard. The site of a medieval church associated in the 13th century with the Priory of the Holy Trinity (Turner 1983, 59). The site is presently occupied by the Church of Ireland church (dated 1712). The curving plan of the present walled-in graveyard (DU023-011002-) indicates the possible existence of an early ecclesiastical enclosure (DU023-011004-).

DU023-071 Stillorgan Park Castle (site of) Situated at the junction of Stillorgan Road and Stillorgan Grove in a green area. A castle is depicted on the First Edition of the Ordnance Survey maps this house is titled ' Stillorgan Castle'. This holding may relate to the manor of Stillorgan owned by John De Clahill, Raymond de Carew and by 1360 by Sir John Cruise. It would appear that the manor house may have been sited 355 m to the N at 'Stillorgan House'. No visible remains survive.

Table 1 RMP sites located within 1km of the proposed development

4.2 A review of the most proximate archaeological investigations, excavations and

assessments carried out in the surrounding area has failed to reveal anything further of

archaeological or historical interest and there are no sites recorded within 1km of the

proposed development in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH).

4.3 A search of the online Excavations Bulletin for previous archaeological investigations

within the proposed development site produced no results. A single archaeological

investigation has been undertaken within the wider vicinity (1km) and it is listed in the

table below.

Licence Location Site Type Author

09E0236 St. Brigid's Parish Church Non-archaeological Michael Tierney

Table 2 Previous archaeological investigations within 1km of proposed development



Figure 7 RMP sites within 400m of the proposed development



4 Impact of proposed development

4.1 A site inspection took place on 15 January 2019 and a photographic and written record

was made of the existing structures on the proposed development site (Plates 1 and 2).

There was nothing noted as surviving on site in terms of any earlier historic fabric or

upstanding features.

Plate 2 Existing structure and car park, facing northeast (January 2019)

4.2 The construction of the double basement has the potential to impact wholly or partially

on any potential archaeological or architectural remains which may be present sub-

surface on the site.

4.3 In this regard, the projected impact of the proposed development on archaeological

deposits, where they may exist, can be considered moderate to total.



5 Conclusion and recommendations

5.1 This assessment has demonstrated that the potential for encountering deposits of an

archaeological nature over the course of development is low to moderate.

5.2 Where it would appear likely that the proposed development will pose a low to moderate

threat to the area’s archaeological heritage, it is recommended that licensed

archaeological monitoring be undertaken across the site over the initial stages of ground

reduction, in order to identify and quantify any deposits which may be present sub-

surface.

__________________________

James Kyle BSc HDip MIAI

Archaeology and Built Heritage Spade Enterprise Centre St. Paul's, Smithfield North King Street Dublin 7.



6 References

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Development Plan 2016-2022.

Archer, Lt. J.A. (1801). Statistical Survey of the County of Dublin. Dublin.

Bennett, I. (ed.) (1987-2015). Excavations: Summary Accounts of Archaeological Excavations in Ireland. Bray.

Clarke, H.B. (2002). Dublin, part I, to 1610. Irish Historic Towns Atlas. Dublin.

Curtis, E. (1936). Rental of the Manor of Lisorangh and notes on the ‘Betagh’ tenure in Medieval Ireland in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature, Vol. 43 (1935 - 1937), 41-76.

de Courcy, J.W. (1996). The Liffey in Dublin, Dublin.

Craig, M. (2004). 'Pearce, Sir Edward Lovett (1699–1733)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford.

Murphy, M. and Potterton, M. (2010). The Dublin Region in the Middle Ages. Dublin.

Pearson, P. (1998). Between the Mountains and the Sea. Dublin.

Pearson, P. (2000). The Heart of Dublin: Resurgence of an Historic City. Dublin.

Simms, A. and Fagan, P. (1992). ‘Villages in County Dublin: Their Origins and Inheritance’ in F. Aalen, F. and K. Whelan, K. (eds), Dublin, City and County: From Prehistory to Present. Dublin.

Stillorgan Leisureplex Stillorgan Dublin 18 · the river Liffey has been well established, as has...

Documents

Transcript of Stillorgan Leisureplex Stillorgan Dublin 18 · the river Liffey has been well established, as has...