Bridge in Friarsinch,gardens (kilkenny City By., St. Canice Par.)

Situated 30m upstream of the present 18th-century Greens Bridge (NIAH 12004007) are the remains of the abutments of its 16th-century precursor which was destroyed in the 'Great Flood' of 1763 (Farrelly et al. 1993, 35-6). The first record of a bridge crossing at this location occurs c.1200 and it is referred to as the 'big bridge of Kilkenny' c.1223 (Farrelly et al 1993, 35-6; Bradley 2000, 21). In 1338 this bridge was destroyed and its replacement was removed in c.1443. The bridge that prefaced the present Greens Bridge was built by Bishop Oliver Cantwell before 1526, and it is recorded as being in a 'decayed state in 1623 (Bradley 2000, 21). The first allusion to the name 'Grines Bridge', presumably in reference to a personal name, dates to 1623 and it is marked, schematically, on the 1654 Down Survey map (ibid.). In 1710 the Cantwell bridge was 'out of repair' (ibid.) and it is marked on John Rocque's 1758 map shortly prior to its destruction in 1763. One Gothic arch of the Cantwell bridge spans the millrace (KK019-026077-) on the E bank of the River Nore. An archaeological excavation of part of the remainder of the bridge was carried out as part of the Kilkenny Flood Relief scheme (Stevens 2002, unpublished; 2003, 211-2). Five surviving sections of the collapsed bridge, including two piers, two sections of collapsed masonry and a bridge abutment, were revealed in excavations (01E0326) by Paul Stevens for the Kilkenny Flood Relief Scheme (Stevens 2002). Compiled by: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil Date of upload: 12 November 2020