Bridge

The National Monuments Service's description

Bridge (NIAH 12000007) forming the crossing point between the medieval boroughs of Hightown (Watergate Street) and Irishtown (Irishtown Street) over the River Breagagh. A bridge to link the Irishtown and Hightown was in place from at least c.1207 and has been variously called ‘Irishtown bridge’ and ‘Watergate bridge’ (Farrelly et al 1993, 6; Bradley 2000, 21). An archaeological survey of the bridge undertaken by Ian Doyle as part of the investigations at the rear of No.1 Irishtown (02E1592) verified the historical accounts which indicated the present two-arch bridge is a construction of several phases (Doyle 2004). The core of the bridge appears to be of 16th-century date, probably corresponding to the Corporation of Irishtown’s intention in 1568 to ‘repair and build the bridge and Town Wall adjoining’ (Ainsworth 1978, 33). This bridge was subsequently expanded on the downstream side in the later 18th century and again by 5.7m in 1799. Upstream of the bridge is a ‘freestanding arch’ which is keyed into the late medieval riverside wall KK 019-026001- on the south side of the River Breagagh. Prior to the Kilkenny flood relief scheme a high wall (H 6m) was supported on the bridge-arch; this formed the W wall of a building that overshot the river and was taken down in 2003. Given the fact that the arch is of late medieval date and lines up with the Irishtown street-frontage, it would appear that the alignment of Watergate Street changed following the widening and bridge modifications in the 18th century. This left the arch redundant and its carriageway was subsequently removed. The remains of the gatehouse probably survive under the 18th-century house fronting No. 6 Watergate Street to the W of the S end of the standing bridge. The 15th/16th-century stretch of town wall, recorded during archaeological investigations at No. 6 Watergate Street, on the S bank of the river Breagagh carried out by Cóilín Ó Drisceoil (07E0366), was probably contemporary with the bridge and gatehouse (Ó Drisceoil 2007, unpublished; 2010, unpublished; 2010, 263).

Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil

Date of upload: 3 November 2020

References

Doyle, I.W. 2004 River Nore (Kilkenny City) Drainage Scheme: Archaeological Excavations at the rear of No.1 Irishtown, Kilkenny 02E1592. Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd. (unpublished excavation report).

Ó Drisceoil, C. 2007 Archaeological Impact Assessment Report Proposed Residential Development to the Rear of No. 6 Watergate Street, Kilkenny, Excavation Licence No. 07E0366 (Kilkenny Archaeology, unpublished report).

Ó Drisceoil, C. 2010 Archaeological Assessment 6 Watergate Street, Kilkenny City, Excavation Licence No. 07E0366 (Kilkenny Archaeology, unpublished report).

Ó Drisceoil, C. 2010 6 Watergate (rear of), Kilkenny 07E0366, in I. Bennett (ed), Excavations 2007: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, no. 975, 263. Bray. Wordwell.

Ainsworth, J. 1978 The Corporation Book of the Irishtown of Kilkenny, 1537-1628. In Analecta Hibernica, 28, 1-78.

Bradley, J. 2000 Kilkenny. Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 10. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy.

Farrelly, J., O'Reilly, B., and Loughran, A. 1993 Urban archaeological survey - county Kilkenny (2 vols.). Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works, Dublin.