Mural tower (Historic Town)

The National Monuments Service's description

'Stanihurst's Tower' on the N side of Little Ship Street was a mural tower located to the E of Pole Gate [DU018-020021-] which defended the city wall (DU018-020007) of Dublin. Known as 'Stanihurst's Tower' after James Stanihurst, recorder of Dublin, who owned the adjoining property. This tower was described in 1585 as follows; 'From Bremyghams towre to Stanirste [h]is towre is 196 foote [60m] distant, whereof there is next the said Bremyghams towre 64 foote [19.5m] within the castell diche not rampered, and from thens to Stanirste [h]is towre, beinge 132 foote [40m], is sufficientlie rampiered, and firme grounde 20 foote [6m] hie from the foundacion of the wall, which wall is 28 foote [8.5m] hie, wherof 8 foote [2.4m] is abowe the said rampier besydes the garettes and 7 foote [2.1m] thicke. The said Stanirste [h]is towre is rounde withowt the wall and skware within, three stories hie, with three tymber loftes, and in the loer storie three lowpes [loops], in the second storie one lowpe, and in the third storie twoe lowps, the wall 6 foote [1.8m] thicke, 19 foote [5.8m] sqware within, and the towre 46 foote [14m] hie besydes the garettes. From Stanhurst [h]is towre to the Pole gate [DU018-020021-] is 168 foote [51m] distant, and the wall and rampier agreinge in like height and thicknis as the other parte of the said wall and rampier aforsaide' (CARD Vol. 2, 551).
The remains still survive on the N side of Ship Street. They are round outside the city wall; square inside the wall and stand three storeys high (H c. 14.5m, T c. 1.8m). It was refaced in the 19th century and has a thick base batter. A section of city wall survives either side of it (Healy 1973, 18). This S stretch of town wall (L 85m, H 5m) leads up to the boundary of Dublin Castle. It is built of coursed masonry and battered towards the extra-mural street level, which is on the fosse site (Thomas 1992, Vol. 2, 80; Clarke, Dent and Johnson 2002, 32). Extant in modified form 2002 (Clarke 2002, 21).

See attached Google Street Maps photos of section of Dublin City wall and polygonal shaped mural tower.

Compiled by: Geraldine Stout

Revised by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of revised upload: 28 April 2023

References

Clarke, H.B. 2002 Irish Historic Towns Atlas No. 11: Dublin, part I, to 1610. Royal Irish Academy. Dublin.

Clarke, H., Dent, S. and Johnson, R. (eds.) 2002 Dublinia: The Story of Medieval Dublin. O'Brien Press. Dublin.

Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin: In the Possession of the Municipal Corporation of that City.

Healy, P. 1973 The town walls of Dublin. In E. Gillespie (ed.), The Liberties of Dublin, 16-23. Dublin. O'Brien.

Clarke, H.B. 1978 Dublin c. 840 - c. 1540: the medieval town in the modern city. Dublin.

Thomas, A. 1992 The walled towns of Ireland, 2 vols. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.