Mills

Unlocated mill within the historic town (LA013-041) of Portlaoise known in medieval times as Maryborough. Mill shown on the map of c. 1560 east of the stream from the fort's (LA013-041001-) circular angle tower, its site is today occupied by Rank's Mills. Church Avenue now runs along the line of this mill race that powered the mill the location of which is now marked by the site of Ranks Mills. This mill race would appear to be the stream that is shown on the plan of c. 1560. Area around Pepper's Lane, Portlaoise was investigated by Dominic Delany in the year 1996 under excavation licence no. 96E277. Archaeological test-excavation was undertaken in advance of a proposed commercial and residential development at Pepper's Lane, Portlaoise, in September 1996. The site is located about 150m south-east of the sixteenth-century fort. All OS 6-inch maps show a mill-race running along the site's eastern boundary. This mill-race was formed in the early nineteenth century by revetting the banks of a small stream which is clearly marked on the two surviving sixteenth-century maps of the fort and town. The mill-race powered a large flour mill (recently demolished) which stood on the site of a sixteenth-century mill outside the north-east corner of the old fort. The site is L-shaped in plan and measures 100m north-south by 12-32m east-west. A large nineteenth-century dwelling-house, due to be refurbished, occupies the north end of the site. Following demolition, three trial-trenches were mechanically excavated at the site. Trenches 1 and 2 were located close to the western and eastern boundaries respectively, and extended the full length of the area to be developed (i.e. 85m). Trench 3 was located between Trenches 1 and 2 and was 45m long. At the southern end of the site rubble overburden (0.4m thick) overlay a redeposited mottled grey/brown fine sand (0.7m thick). The sand overlay a natural yellowish-brown clayey silt containing pebbles and cobbles. The ground at the northern end of the site had been very disturbed by the extensive building activity in this area. Rubble overburden (0.7m thick) and the remains of broken concrete and cobbled surfaces overlay a dark brown clayey sand with moderate inclusions of cobbles, pebbles, crushed mortar and brick, and flecks of charcoal and lime (0.25m thick). This overlay the natural reddish-brown clay. The broken remains of the mill-race channel (2.5m wide, 1.5m high) were located in Trench 2. The reverting walls were composed of rubble limestone masonry, and the 15m section which had been covered by buildings at the northern end of the site had a stone- and brick-arched roof. The fill within the roofed section was foul-smelling and a couple of disused sewer pipes entered the channel. A brown silty sand with frequent inclusions of pebbles, glass fragments, pottery sherds, animal bone and synthetic materials lay at the surface (0.15m thick). This overlay a deposit of coarse grey sand with moderate inclusions of flecks of charcoal, modern glass fragments and pottery sherds (0.5m deep, not fully excavated). The remaining section of the mill-race was originally open but had been gradually filled in since it became obsolete in the late nineteenth century. One section of the channel had been broken through and subsequently replaced by concrete piping. No archaeological deposits or features were encountered.