Cath — Waterford City

The cathedral church of the Holy Trinity, also called Christ Church, is probably a pre-Anglo-Norman foundation as the first bishop of Waterford was consecrated in Canterbury in 1096. A new cathedral was constructed in the 13th century which required repair throughout the medieval period and it was extensively renovated in 1522. At least eight side chapels are attested in 14th- and 15th-century documentation (Gilbert 1885, 328-9) including St Saviour's chapel established by John Collyn, dean of the cathedral, in 1468, the register from which survives (MacNiocaill 1966, 146). Burial was conducted within the church where six monuments were noted by Smith (1746, 175-9) that do not survive, and there was also an extensive graveyard (WA009-005100----) around it. A late 17th-century map published in Ryland (1824, 106ff.) depicts the cathedral as a large building with a tower and spire. The old building was removed in 1773, when the stones of the W window were taken to the Portlaw area to be rebuilt in a folly, but the project was never completed and the stones have been dispersed (WA004-028----). The old cathedral was replaced by the present church which was designed by John Roberts and completed in 1779 (Craig 1982, 209). Beneath the present floor is the floor of the medieval cathedral, and one of the elaborate original columns was put on display in 1997 (97E0459; O'Donovan 1998). Further work (06E1205) recorded another pier (McQuade 2010), and another excavation (03E0190) recorded a substantial N-S wall (Elder 2006a). Within the cathedral are the Rice altar-tomb (WA009-005101-) depicting a cadaver (Roe 1969, 19) and two 16th-century effigies (Hunt 1974, vol. 1, 234-6) and other fragments (WA009-0050101- to WA009-005108-). Outside the church are some 16th- and 17th-century grave-covers (WA009-005109- to WA009-005112-), including an early 18th century stone with passion symbols. (Drew 1895; Bradley et al. 1989, vol. 2, 230-42) 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 Unpublished report commissioned by the Office of Public Works. Craig, M. (1982) The architecture of Ireland: from earliest times to 1880. B.T. Batsford, London. Drew, T. (1895) The Danish Christchurches of Dublin and Waterford. WAJ. Vol. 1, 194-7. Elder, S. D. (2006a) Christchurch Cathedral, Waterford urban medieval. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2003: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 510, No. 1923. Wordwell. Bray Gilbert, J. T. (1885) Archives of the municipal corporation of Waterford; appendix 5, 265-339. Tenth report of the Hisortical Manuscripts Commission, London. Hunt, J. (1974) Irish medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600: a study of Irish tombs with notes on costume and armour, 2 vols. Irish University Press. Dublin. McQuade, M. (2010) Christchurch Cathedral, Waterford. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2007: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 520, No. 1845. Wordwell. Dublin O'Donovan, E. (1998) Christchurch, Waterford. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 1997: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 185, No. 526. Wordwell. Bray. Roe, H. M. (1969) Cavdaver effigal monuments in Ireland. JRSAI 99, 1-19. Ryland, Rev. R. H. (1824) The History, topography and antiquities of the county and city of Waterford. John Murray. London. Smith, C. (1746) The history of the town and county of Waterford. W. Wilson. 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: 7th December 2010. Compiled by: Michael Moore.