Grey Abbey (in Ruins) — Kildare

In a graveyard (KD022-029067-) on low-lying ground to the SW of Kildare town (KD022-029001-). A possible holy well (KD022-030----) lies outside the graveyard’s W wall. A Franciscan friary, the precise foundation date of which is uncertain: Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 252) quote sources suggesting a founding c. 1254 by the ancestors of the earls of Kildare, or a founding c.1260, either by Gerald Fitz Maurice alone, or jointly with William de Vesci. The friars received a royal grant in 1276-8. John Fitz Thomas, 1st earl of Kildare was buried in the church in 1316, Thomas Fitz John, 2nd earl was buried in the Lady Chapel in 1328, followed by his son, Richard, in 1329. When surrendered in 1539, the friary included a church and belfry, dormitory, hall, three chambers, kitchen, cemetery and two gardens, while in November 1540, the jurors reported that all the buildings except the church and most of the cloister had been burnt in the previous May by O’Conor. The friary was re-established in 1621 (op. cit). According to Bradley et al. (1986 vol. 3, 246-51), the surviving remains comprise a ruined and overgrown nave and chancel church (est. int. L c. 20m E-W; Wth c. 5m) built of roughly coursed limestone blocks with no visible quoins or jambs surviving, which originally had a side chapel at the N. To the S, the remains of a claustral building survive as the collapsed, grass-covered walls (H 0.75m) of a rectangular area (est. L c. 15.5 N-S; Wth c. 4.4 m). The upstanding structure is mainly of 13th century date; the E window and probably the W window are 15th century insertions, while the buttresses on the N wall of the chancel are possibly 14th century. A drawing by Austin Cooper in 1791 shows one, and possibly two transepts, the N one opening onto the N chapel. Only the NW angle and the partially rebuilt S wall of the nave survives. The N splay of the W window is visible, and the S wall contains three round-arched niches. Externally, the roofline of the cloister is visible. The chancel is lit by a robbed out window shown in Cooper’s drawing as pointed with switchline tracery. The granite sill of a larger and apparently earlier window is visible in the outer face of the wall. The N wall was supported by five, free-standing buttresses, which have parted from the wall over time, and the wall contains six, poorly preserved lancets. Two portions of the original S wall survive, at its E and W ends. It has been rebuilt in the middle and acts as part of the S boundary of the graveyard. Nothing remains of the N side-chapel, shown by Cooper to have had a pointed window. In 1991, archaeological trial trenching (1991:075 www.excavations.ie) in advance of the proposed building of a bungalow and garage to the N of Grey Abbey yielded five sherds of local medieval pottery and a single sherd of post-medieval tankard ware from the topsoil. Small fragments of burnt animal bone were also recovered. Field walking a recently ploughed field to the immediate W of the site produced numerous sherds of local medieval pottery including a fragment of line-impressed medieval tile. Examples of the design used, four-foil in clockwise scroll, had previously been recorded at Kildare Cathedral (KD022-029005-) and Great Connell Priory (KD023-016----). Subsequent monitoring of the ground works for the foundations revealed a localised find scatter of 16 fragmentary sherds of local medieval pottery in the topsoil. The sherds had a dull orange sandy fabric with coarse inclusions and some exhibited a mottled green outer glaze. In 2004, archaeological test trenching (Excavation Licence No. 04E0233) in advance of a large commercial development took place when 15 trenches were excavated across two fields, incorporating the friary grounds, the Friars' Well (KD022-030----) and adjacent lands. Six of the trenches excavated in the friary grounds concentrated on the W limits of the land scheduled for development. The E limits of the friary site containing the remains of the cloister were not investigated. Two trenches were excavated across the well site to determine its nature and extent. The remaining six trenches were excavated in the main body of the development site. The trenches excavated within the friary grounds confirmed the results of an earlier geophysical survey, identifying the site to be composed of a series of rectilinear enclosures defined by a complex of ditches and earthen banks. For the main part these ditches had been ploughed out, though the northernmost enclosure is particularly well preserved, having an above-ground register of 0.9m. The ditch representing the townland boundary was also identified at this time. Several fragments of medieval pottery were retrieved. A red-brick structure, possibly representing the remains of a post-medieval well, was also identified. The earthen enclosures appear to be directly associated with the workings of the Franciscan friary, with a similar complex of embankments noted within the surviving remains of the graveyard. The trenches excavated within the main body of the development site were archaeologically sterile. (Dennehy E. 2007, No. 831, 198-9) In 2005, the remains of the friary to be directly impacted upon by the development, including the Friars' Well, were excavated under an extension to the existing licence (Excavation Licence No. 04E0233 ext.). The prehistoric remains of a Bronze Age fulacht fia (KD022-114----), a cremation burial (KD022-115----) and an Iron Age kiln (KD022-116----) were found. The area excavated did not incorporate any of the friary’s main buildings but was confined to an earthen platform and possible garden areas, interpreted by Bradley et al. (op. cit.) as possibly being of modern construction. The excavation was confined to the south and west edges and illustrated that the platform was constructed on a naturally occurring hill, the topography of which was accentuated through the excavation of three parallel enclosing ditches. The material derived from the excavation of these ditches was centrally mounded to create internal banks. Material retrieved from the ditches contained animal bone, 13th-century floor tiles (identical to those from St Brigid’s cathedral), 12th–13th-century Dublin-type ware and a medieval horse harness pendant. As the interior of the enclosure was not excavated, an interpretation as to its exact function was not reached. This structure is referred to locally as a leper colony, which could indicate that it originally functioned as a hospital within the friary compound. It may also have served as an animal enclosure or as the initial settlement area for the friars until such time as the construction work on the friary had been completed. The remainder of the area within Field 1 was subdivided into two areas, a lawn area where no medieval features were present and a garden area which was criss-crossed with a series of drains and agricultural features. The archaeology of this area illustrated the management of the friary’s water supply, with the drainage specifically designed with central ‘reservoirs’, so that in times of adverse weather excess water was rapidly removed from the site, whereas during dry spells water to irrigate the land was retained within the drains. By the late 13th/early 14th century the division between the garden area and the lawn area was formally defined by a 1.6m-wide ditch. The townland boundary, which is curvilinear in plan, would appear to follow the course of a now dry streambed. It was constructed through the excavation of two parallel ditches, the material from which was used to create a central bank. Datable material retrieved from the excavation provides a construction date in the 17th century. (Dennehy E. 2008, No. 757, 184-5) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 23 January 2012