Ecclesiastical residence

The National Monuments Service's description

The undercroft of a 13th-century structure survives under the garden of the 18th-century deanery on the E side of Cathedral Square, with the undercroft of a later structure attached to the N beneath the deanery itself. References, probably to the later structure, date from 1468 and the earlier undercroft appears to have been blocked off and abandoned in the 17th century. However, it was re-opened in the 1840s when c. 0.5m of a deposit was removed from the floor (Hore 1848-9). The two doorways connecting the earlier and later parts were probably inserted at this time.

The earlier undercroft is a rectangular structure (int. dims. 20.25m N-S; 5.75m E-W) with a plank-centered barrel vault, supported down the centre by an arcade of six arches. The arches spring from five, square Dundry stone pillars with chamfered angles, and two similar pilasters are attached to the N and S walls. The original entrance is through a pointed Dundry stone doorway with newel stairs at the SW corner. The stairs now emerge through a modern doorway, in the same style, above the vault, but none of the superstructure of the original building survives. There are four original window embrasures in the W wall of the undercroft and one in the E wall near an inserted doorway. Attached to N is the vaulted undercroft (int. dims. 13.7m N-S; 5.75m E-W) of a later structure which is probably 15th century in date. It has three embrasures in the W wall and an inserted window in the N wall. The SE part of the vault was destroyed when stairs from the early 18th-century deanery were inserted. Excavation by C. O'Rahilly (1986) outside the original structure exposed a 15th-/16th-century yard associated with the inserted entrance in the E wall of the 13th-century structure, and excavation by M. O'Brien (1986) internally revealed the stone floor of the 13th-century undercroft and features pre-dating the later undercroft. (Lumley 1983; Bradley et al. 1989, vol. 2, 162)

Bradley, J., Halpin, A. and King, H. (1989) Urban archaeology Survey of Waterford City and County, 2 vols. Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works.
Hore, Rev. E. N. (1848-9) Description of an ancient crypt beneath the Deanery House, Waterford, JRSAI 1, 413-15.
Lumley, I. W. J. (1983) The deanery 'crypt'. Waterford; a preliminary investigation, Decies, No. 24, 4-7.
O'Brien, M. (1986) The crypt; medieval undercroft. in C. Cotter (Ed.) Excavations 1985: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 39, No. 56. Irish Academic Publications. Dublin.
O'Rahilly, C. (1986) Deanery garden; medieval/post-medieval. in C. Cotter (Ed.) Excavations 1985: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 38-9, No. 56. Irish Academic Publications. Dublin.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload/revision: 23 December 2008