House — 16th century in Irishtown,limerick City

Medieval one and a half storey high rectangular house aligned E-W with W gable facing onto Curry Lane or Curry's Lane as it is annotated on OSi 25-inch which was known in the 1654 Civil Survey as East Langable and on 18th century maps as East Langable or Curra Lane (O'Flaherty 2010, 15). The term langable comes from land gable and was used to describe the rear boundary properties in the taxation of medieval burgage plots (ibid., 11). The cut-stone round-headed doorway with chamfered jams is visible in the centre of the N wall with niche for stone plaque directly overhead with window sill of dormer window above this feature. The house was modified with the insertion of redbrick architectural features possibly in the early 18th century. A datestone (LI005-017188-) from 1733 was taken from this house and has now been inserted into the N facade at the entrance to United Drug office at the junction of Curry Lane and Old Clare Street. The S wall of the house was remodeled with the insertion of redbrick windows and the blocking up of the cut stone openings which probably dates from 1733. The house now stands in the car parking area of United Drug company. This stone house was one of 23 stone houses listed in Irishtown in the 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick City (Simington 1938). Medieval town house [NIAH Reg. No. 21513035] within the walled city of Limerick (LI005-017---) described in 2012 as following; 'Located along Curry Lane surrounded to the rear by United Drug premises. The extant stone structure, which western façade fronts onto Curry Lane, is an important architectural remnant of the later medieval period particularly as there are few secular architectural remains within Irishtown dating from this period. The remaining original fabric suggests that the structure would have originally been used as domestic accommodation within the walled town of Limerick. It is dated to between 1550‐1600 based on the architectural details extant and visible (i.e. windows and doors). The building was described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage [NIAH] as a detached square‐plan (though the NIAH describes the structure as being square in plan it is in fact rectangular, please refer to plans). It is a roofless rubble limestone structure, built c. 1500s, facing west with a three‐bay street‐fronted elevation cropped to first floor level with a section of first floor elevation surviving to south and much of north and south‐facing side elevations remaining. Large roughly squared quoins to south corner of façade and south‐facing side elevation. Multiple‐bay two‐storey coursed rubble limestone south‐facing side elevation with squared rubble stone ground floor level changing at first floor level where stones are laid on the flat. Concrete block courses terminate first floor level. Random rubble stone walls with in and out squared and tooled limestone quoins. Several camber‐ and segmental headed window and door openings to west and south elevations, now mostly blocked‐up, with the north elevation having the most intact late medieval façade. To west (street‐facing) elevation there is a blocked‐up red brick camber‐arched opening and both of later origins. Lower sections of window surround uprights, possibly original, also survive. To south elevation is a roughly carved limestone window frame with limestone slab voussoirs above. Also to south elevation are a number of red brick arched and framed openings of more modern origins. Two red brick openings may originally have formed chimneystack. The north elevation is the most intact with limestone surrounds to openings with limestone flag voussoirs. One bay possibly formally composed, is composed of a blocked‐up round‐arch door opening with arch formed of a single carved limestone having a squared limestone frame above and limestone relieving arch surmounted by bricked‐up window opening with limestone surround and central mullion. The east elevation appears to be a party wall or masonry internal dividing wall, which has one red brick formed segmental‐arch opening. Limited internal access has revealed limestone corbels, which once supported floor beams. Reports suggest that this site is a terrace of three‐storey buildings of late medieval origins, which had a secular use, and may have been an almshouse. No reference is made on the Civil Survey, however, to an almshouse in this location. The stone structure is in poor repair but retains a number of quite significant elements including: limestone mullioned window frames, round‐arch door openings and limestone corbels. This site is of great importance, as one of the few known above ground late medieval remains of secular architecture in this historic part of the city. Broad Street was once the main thoroughfare linking Mary Street (called High Street when recorded on a Map prepared by Westropp in 1919 of Limerick c. 1690) on King's Island with Irish Town and John's Gate, where the citadel was located. Curry Lane (referred to as Curry's on 1872 Ordnance Survey was roughly parallel with Broad Street to the east, and further east the medieval town walls ran roughly parallel to both streets. Another Curry Lane, now demolished, ran perpendicular to the other Curry Lane. Still surviving today on Broad Street are a number of distinctly medieval narrow lanes such as Joynt's Lane, which link with Curry Lane. This structure in fact, would appear to have been once located at the junction of Curry Lane (or Curry's Lane) and the Curry Lane, which ran perpendicular to the west' (www.buildingsofireland.ie) (Coyne 2012). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Frank Coyne of Aegis Archaeology Date of upload: 6 January 2020