Mural tower (Historic Town)

The National Monuments Service's description

The Watch Tower or Fagan's Tower stood on the N side of Lamb Alley between Sedgrave's Tower (DU018-020009-) and the New Gate (DU018-020377-) on Dublin City Walls. This mural tower on the Dublin City walls (DU018-020001-) was described in 1585 as follows; 'From the towre [DU018-020009-] in Mr. Sedgraves pocession to the towre in Mr. Richard Fagan his pocession is 90 foote [27.4m] distant, and the wall agreeing in like height and thicknis as aforsaid, and no rampier within the said parte of the wall, but the licke buttris withowt as befor. The said towre in Mr. Fagans pocession is a rounde towre withowte, and sqware within, and nether vawte [vault] nor lofte, but a waye going upe unto the tope, beinge ten foote [3m] sqware upon the tope, with a garett and fyve lowps [loops] in the waye going upe, and the towre 32 foote [9.8m] hie and 2 foote [0.6m] thicke, besydes the thicknis of the stayres. From the towre in Mr. Fagans pocession to the sowth-easte towre of the Newe gate [DU018-020377-] is 120 foote [36.5m] distant, the wall 17 foote [5.2m] hie and fyve foote [1.5m] thicke, and no rampier within the said wall, but howses joyning close to the said wall within, and the licke buttris withowt the said wall, as the other parte of the said wall hawe befor' (CARD Vol. 2, 553).
Lamb Alley: Known as the Watch tower or Fagan's Tower because the sentry stood there watching over Newgate Gaol (DU018-020757-). This building was located on the N side of Lambe Alley. It had an upper chamber accessible by stairs (H 7.5m). In 1618 Alderman Thaddy Duff was given a lease at an annual rate of two shillings (Healy 1973, 19).

The results of an excavation on the suggested site of Fagan's Castle by Tim Coughlan under licence no. 96E0300 were summarised as follows; 'A pre-development excavation commenced at the site in mid-October 1996 and continued until mid-March 1997. The excavated area consisted of a 6m-wide trench running east-west for approximately 32m between Back Lane and Lamb Alley. The archaeological deposits were sealed by an average of 0.4m of overburden with only minor cellar disturbance. The entire excavation area was excavated to subsoil. Seven phases of activity were recorded.
Phase I-postholes, pits, gullies, and a clay bank
Phase II-cultivation
Phase III-expansion of the clay bank
Phase IV-post-and-wattle structures
Phase V-stave-built structures
Phase VI-later medieval activity
Phase VII-post-medieval activity' (www.excavations.ie 1997:105).
During the excavation, part of a mortared masonry structure of possible medieval date was identified in the western half of the area (Area X). It is possible that the structure uncovered represents the remains of a mural tower on the city wall' (Coughlan 1999, 61).

Coughlan, T. 1999 Archaeological Report: Excavations at Back Lane, Dublin 8. Unpublished archaeological report (96E0300) for Zoe Developments Ltd.. Submitted to the National Monuments Service, Dublin.

See attached images taken from Coughlan 1999.

To see a video of this section of the city wall see following RTE archive footage at https://www.rte.ie/archives/2020/0505/1136521-old-city-wall-dublin/

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.

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.

Coughlan, T. 1998b The Anglo-Norman houses of Dublin: evidence from Back Lane. In S. Duffy (ed.), Medieval Dublin I, 203-33. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Coughlan, T. 1997 Back Lane/Lamb Alley. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1996: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 18-19. Bray. Wordwell.

Coughlan, T. 1998a Back Lane/Lamb Alley. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1997: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 32-4. Bray. Wordwell.