EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Waterford
reinforced by the addition of a stone retaining wall in the early/mid-twelfth century (Hurley
1997b, 10).
The original church of the Holy Trinity (Christchurch) was built before A.D. 1185. It was
probably built in the mid-eleventh century (Bradley & Halpin 1992) after the Stage 2 defences
had fallen out of use. Excavations have established that St. Peter’s church was also built at
this stage while other churches such as St. Mary’s and St. Olaf’s may date to the same
period.
Settlement rapidly expanded to the west (Phase 4) outside the line of the early/late-twelfth
century stone wall constructed along the line of Arundel Square and Bakehouse Lane. There
is evidence that this was well underway by the mid-twelfth century when a number of houses
were found to be built above the backfilled ditch. The line of another later twelfth century
(possibly pre-Anglo-Norman) defensive bank and ditch was uncovered in excavations further
west (Wren 1998, 2000, 2001 & 2002; Moran 1999). Subsequently, this defensive ditch and
bank fell out of use and was replaced in the early-thirteenth century by a new defensive wall
with gate-towers.
Fig. 285: Topopgraphical development of Scandinavian Waterford (after Hurley et al. 1997,
7).
DEFENCES
Ninth-century Dún Defences
It has been suggested that the original nucleus of the Scandinavian town was in the area of
Reginald’s Tower (Bradley & Halpin 1992, 108). Hurley’s model (1997, 8-11) has proposed a
westward expansion with the Phase 1 tenth-century Dún (Dundory) comprising a small
triangular space between the confluence of the two rivers. A subsequent developmental
phase (2) - indicated by the layout of properties in early maps- may have involved the
enclosure by ramparts of a further strip, west of the primary nucleus towards the end of the
tenth century (Fig. 285).
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