House - medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

Monument Name:  St. Sepulchre’s Palace / Manor House of the Archbishop of Dublin / Manor of St Sepulchre / Archbishop’s Manor / Archbishop’s Palace

Kevin Street Garda Station incorporates the medieval palace of St Sepulchre, which was the residence of the Archbishops of Dublin throughout the medieval period into the 19th century. The palace was built on the site of a garden by Archbishop John Cuimin in c. 1192 (Clarke 2002, 29).  The late 12th-century palace stood within a walled precinct which took the form of a quadrangle, examination of the building in 2003 by Danielle O’Donovan concluded that a large section of this medieval quadrangle still survives, incorporated within the existing buildings (the western wing is particularly intact: see for example the officer’s mess, which was part of a large tower) (O’Donovan 2003). The medieval palace of St. Sepulchre, was established by Archbishop John Cumin (Comyn), the first Anglo-Norman archbishop of Dublin outside the city walls and stands today 50m to the SE of St. Patrick’s Cathedral (DU018-020269-). Three medieval archbishops are credited with works to the palace, John Cumin (1182-1212), Hugh Inge (1521-28) and John Alen (1528-34).  According to the entry compiled by Ailbhe Mac Shamhráin in the Dictionary of Irish Biography, Archbishop John Cumin (Comyn) was originally a Benedictine monk at Evesham Abbey, Worcestershire, England, who became the first ‘crown-appointed English prelate in Ireland’ when he was confirmed by the pope and consecrated at Velletri in March 1182.  The possessions of the archdiocese were subsequently confirmed to him under feudal law by Prince John, lord of Ireland, and by Aoife, daughter of Diarmait Mac Murchada, king of Leinster (McNeill 1950, 94; Crede mihi, li). He departed England and came to Ireland in 1184 in order to prepare for the arrival of Prince John, lord of Ireland. 

He held the archiepiscopal manors at St Sepulchre, Swords (DU011-034001-), Finglas (DU014-066---), Tallaght (DU021-037010-), Shankill (DU026-052----), and Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare (KD029-011001- ), along with the land of Coillacht, an extensive wooded area extending from the upper Dodder to Tallaght. He exercised jurisdiction in these manors through his officials, including seneschals and bailiffs, and held licence for an annual eight-day fair in Swords and a Saturday market in Ballymore. He moved the archbishops residence from the archiepiscopal palace on St Michael's Hill [Christchurch, Dublin] to his manor of St Sepulchre, outside the jurisdiction of Dublin City. In 1190 Prince John, lord of Ireland granted Comyn the liberties and free customs by John, lord of Ireland, which gave the archbishop the right to hold courts in various parts of Ireland (Sweetman 1875-86, nos 180, 1789). He died on the 25th of October in 1212 and was buried in the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Christ Church Cathedral) (DU018-020270- ). The jurisdiction of the Liberty of Saint Sepulchre was granted to the Archbishop of Dublin and his successors and was both criminal and civil. The earliest is a charter by John, Earl of Morton, and Lord of Ireland, to John Cumin, Archbishop of Dublin. The extent of the Liberty included the manor of St. Sepulchre, the manors of Tallaght, Rathcoole (DU021-030008-) or Clondalkin (DU017-041----), Shankill, Swords (including Lusk (DU008-010004-), Clonmethan (DU007-006001-) and Rush (DU008-004001-), and Finglas, in co. Dublin, the manor of Ballymore Eustace in co. Kildare, and that of Castlekevin (WI024-003----) in co. Wicklow. The Liberty was abolished in 1856.

‘St. Sepulchre’s Palace’ was described in the Urban Survey of Dublin (Bradley and King 1998, Vol. 1, 29) as follows: ‘This was the residence of the archbishops of Dublin from the late twelfth century (Jackson 1974-5). The site is at present occupied by Kevin Street Garda Station, which incorporates a fragment of the medieval buiIding. This consists of three parallel pointed vaults, a possible medieval doorway between the two inner yards, and a blocked up door in the west end of the building with foliage sprays in the spandrels. Over the door is a rectangular wall plaque decorated in false relief with the defaced shield of an archbishop of Dublin. Above its frame is the motto VIRTUS NOBILITAT in raised Roman capitals (Anon. 1906, 308-9).  In 1926 when drains were being repaired, the skeletons of two elderly men and a chiId were found in the courtyard, near the inner east door, and a ‘deposit’ of human bone was found in the centre of the front yard (Jackson 1974-5, 84)’. 

Most of the original medieval quadrangle still survives in some form and is incorporated within the station and ancillary buildings. This includes a tower (currently the mess) in the NW angle, three groin-vaulted cellars and a 15th-century doorway in the western wall which has been compared with Dunsoghly Castle (DU014-005001-). There is a medieval roof timber in the second floor room at the SW (O’Donovan 2003, 263). O’Donovan (2003) described the complex as having a great hall, a private chamber, a chapel and possibly two towers (one almost attached to Marsh’s Library). The western range survives relatively intact and there is a fine doorway in the west wall inserted by Hugh Inge (Archbishop between 1521 and 1528). Further north, there is a curious vaulted structure orientated east–west, which O’Donovan suggested may represent the church, due to its orientation. A total of three barrel-vaulted cellars also survive, which have surviving sections of wickerwork centring. Part of the eastern range also survives at the southern end, where the wall thickness of the buildings suggests that they are medieval in date. However, the north-east corner of the east range has been demolished. The chapel attached was mentioned in 1367 (O’Donovan 2003, 258-259). It was used for private prayer, administration and the ordination of priests. It appears to have been converted into a parochial church in 1442 by Richard Talbot but was out of use by the 17th century. O’Donovan (2003, 274) suggested that the chapel may have been located in the north of the courtyard where there are medieval vaults remaining.  An inquisition of 1326 describes’ a stone hall badly roofed with shingles and unsafe, a chamber annexed, a kitchen and chapel badly roofed, of no value, because nothing could be got from them, they need great repair, there is a prison there now broken and thrown down (ibid. 258). The gardens and orchards were damaged in 1316 by the kings army. The palace kitchen is mentioned in a document dating from 1213-1218 and seems to have been located near the edge of the site (ibid. 258). In addition to these main buildings the complex would have included kitchens, store rooms, kiln, oven/bakehouses and stabling.  

An archaeological assessment was carried out by Linzi Simpson in June 2004 on a large site comprising the eastern yard of Kevin Street Garda Station and the western frontage of Bride Street (Licence No. 04E0294). Testing revealed a medieval ditch feature, which ran parallel to Kevin Street and measured at least 3.2m in width by 0.65m in depth and was filled with dark-green clay. It also suggested that there are medieval deposits of clay in some areas of the site with the potential for medieval structures, especially in the area of the quadrangle (Simpson 2007, 114-115). 

Further archaeological testing was carried out by Linzi Simpson from September to December 2007 (04E0294 ext.) and this testing was concentrated in the north-western corner of the yard of Kevin Street Garda Station, extending beyond the limit of the site boundaries on the western side, across the missing north-east corner of the quadrangle.  At least two medieval walls were identified lying outside the development site, on the western side, which can be related to the main medieval quadrangle. Neither of these walls were identifiable on Rocque’s 1756 map of Dublin and they were evidently demolished by this date.  O’Donovan has suggested that the east range of the quadrangle survives intact but that the present building built up against the east range is later in date and the assessment, while not conclusive, probably supports this.  However, the remains of what is probably a medieval wall along the line of the building were located at the northern end and this may represent some sort of medieval enclosing wall (Simpson 2010, 113).   In 2008 further archaeological excavation by Linzi Simpson was undertaken at the corner of Kevin Street and Bride Street, Dublin, including the eastern yard of Kevin Street Garda Station (04E0294 ext.). The excavation revealed that this area was settled in the late 12th century and was laid out in property plots but in a general rural landscape (Simpson 2010, 113).

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

References

Sweetman, H.S. (ed.) 1875-86 Calendar of documents, relating to Ireland. Volumes 1-5, 1171-1251. Dublin. Bradley, J. & King, H. (1988) Urban Archaeological Survey, Dublin, Volume 4. A report commissioned by the Office of Public works (Unpublished). Craig, M. 1982 The architecture of Ireland from the earliest times to 1880. Dublin. Eason and Son Ltd. London. Batsford. Clarke, H.B. (ed.) 2002 Dublin, Part 1, to 1610. Irish Historic Towns Atlas, No. 11. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy.

Mac Shamhráin, A.S. 2009 Cumin (Comyn), John.  In James McGuire and James Quinn (eds.), Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

O'Donovan, D. 2003 English patron, English building? The importance of St Sepulchre archiepiscopal palace, Dublin. In S. Duffy (ed.), Medieval Dublin IV, 253–78. Dublin.

Simpson, L. 2010 Kevin Street Garda Station 35–47, Bride Street, Dublin. In Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 2007, No. 479, 113-4.

Simpson, L. 2007 Kevin Street Garda Station, 35–47 Bride Street, Dublin. In Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 2004, No. 517, 114-5.
O'Donovan E. and O'Neill J. 2003 'Chapelstown'. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2001: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 7, no. 30. Bray. Wordwell. McNeill, C. (ed.) 1950 Calendar of Archbishop Alen's Register c. 1172-1534. Dublin. Royal Society of Antiquaries. Murtagh, D. 1973 Walking around the Liberties. In E. Gillespie (ed.), The Liberties of Dublin. Dublin. O'Brien. Jackson, V. 1974-5 The palace of St. Sepulchre. Dublin Historical Record 28, 82-92.

Anon. 1906 St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Inscriptions on the Tombstones in the Green Churchyard. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, Vol. VI, 1904-06, 292-308.