Watercourse

The National Monuments Service's description

A watercourse or stream running along St Thomas Sreet was described in 1547 in the Dublin Assembly Roll as follows; 'It is agreed and establisshed, by auctoritie of this present assemble, that if any person or persons hensforth be found casting any fylth or can be proved that he or they haith cast any filth, sethens the making of this act, in the streame of Sainct Thomas strete, that he and they shall forfaict and lose, totiens quotiens . . iid thone halfe thereof to the thesaurie and the other half [to the] fynder and espier that will declare the same. And [further] it is agreed that Mr. Maior and Mr. Thesaurer, and the masters of the cittie works, shall goo to viewe and se the defaultes and breking of the pavement of the sides of the said streame, and suche persones in whom the said defaultes shalbe founde, that the said Mr. Maior and thesaurer to compell them to the reparacion of the said streme according ther discretion' (CARD Vol. 1, 418).
John Speed's map of Dublin City from 1610, shows a watercourse or stream known as the 'Stream of St. Thomas Street' running E-W along St Thomas Street, at the E end of the watercourse there is a bridge (DU018-020228-) and immediately after the bridge the watercourse turns N possibly along the line of present day John's Lane West where it powers several watermills (DU018-020226-/0096-/982-) depicted on Speed's 1610 map where they are referred to as 'The mills' and shown standing opposite 'John's House' (DU018-020062-) labelled No. 54 on present day John Street. These watermills were located outside the city walls to the SW of Ormonds Gate (DU018-020029-) labelled 29 on Speed's 1610 Map. The watercourse possibly runs N along Mullinahack Lane enters the River Liffey to the N of the medieval mills in the vicinity of the modern Watergate House on Usher's Quay. On the 1610 this watercourse running along St Thomas Street labelled no. 51 on Speed's Map runs past the northern side of St. Catherine's Parish Church (DU018-020074-) labelled 57 on the map and then turns S running down past the W end of the church towards Thomas Court labelled 58 on Speed's map of the city.

Excavated section of watercourse (DU018-020739-) on Thomas Street by Linzi Simpson in 1996 is a section of this same watercourse.

Cross-reference with DU018-020739-

See attached section of Speed's 1610 Map of Dublin City showing the watercourse running along St. Thomas Street between St. Catherine's Church and John's Lane West and 'The mill's' indicated with an X.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 26 June 2023

References

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

Speed, J. 1611-12 The theatre of the empire of Great Britaine: presenting an exact geography of the kingdomes of England, Scotland, Ireland. Atlas.2.61.1, Cambridge University Library.

Simpson, L. 1997b The National College of Art and Design. Thomas St, Dublin. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 1996: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 32-3. Bray. Wordwell.