Round Tower of St Michael Le Pole

The round tower associated with the medieval church (DU018-020082-) of St. Michael Le Pole, survived until the 18th-century. It had been repaired by the Dean and Chapter of St. Pole in 1738, but was damaged by a storm in 1778 and demolished in 1781 (Barrow 1979, 80-90). Two drawings by Beranger from 1766 and 1776 shows the tower rising through the W end of the roof of a school built on the site. According to Smith (1857, 4-5); 'The Round Tower which adjoined the church was taken down in 1778, but some fragments of it remained as late as 1782. It was originally about 90 feet high, but in the great storm of 1775, (November), it was so much shaken that many of the stones fell out, and the centre became what is termed "bulged", which rendered it dangerous to the schoolhouse and to the neighbouring houses. The state of the tower was submitted for the consideration of the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick's Cathedral, as patrons of the church, the parish having been united to that of St. Bride's in 1682. The Dean and Chapter consulted skilful architects, who reported, on close examination of the tower, that it could not be repaired, as any attempt to repair it, by erecting scaffolding, &c., would inevitably pull down the building. It appears that about the year 1738, an eminent antiquarian had applied to the Dean and Chapter for contributions to repair the tower, and that it was then scaffolded from the ground, and well pointed with stone and mortar, both within and without. These seasonable repairs preserved it for a time, but the effects of the storm of November, 1775, were irreparable.

The tower was taken down to the level of the roof of the schoolhouse at the expense of £19 5s. 9d., and the stone was used to repair the wall of the churchyard and engine house. The Schoolhouse was built about the year 1706 by Dr. Jones, an eminent Latin master, who obtained leave to build on, and convert the old walls of St. Michael Le Pole into a schoolhouse, which consisted of a large schoolroom, with three small rooms at the end, and a flight of stairs in the tower leading to the upper rooms. The entire work was finished at Dr. Jones's expense, except the windows, which were furnished by Mr Evans, his usher, who succeeded to the school after the death of Dr. Jones. The Widows' Alms House of St. Bridget's Parish, now occupies the site of the schoolhouse, and is accessible by a narrow passage, or entry, from Ship street. In 1682, the parishes of St. Bride and St. Michael of Pole, and part of St. Stephen's, were united by Act of Council, and this Church was used as the Diocesan Schoolhouse. In 1706, the Chapter issued an order to Dr. John Jones that he should not pull down the monument or tower of St. Michael of Paul's, near his schoolhouse in Sheepe Street'.

Excavations on the site in 1980 revealed the partial remains of the 12th century church and foundations of an integrated round tower type belfry. Foundations extant below ground level in 2002 (Campbell & Gowen 1989-90, 74; Bradley & King 1987, 2, 121-22; Gowen 2002, 13-52; Clarke 2002, 17).

The results of the excavations carried out by Kieran Campbell and Margaret Gowen in 1980 were summarised as follows; 'Excavations by the Dublin Archaeological Research Team on behalf of Dodder Properties (Holdings) Ltd. took place over a nine-week period on a large site hounded by Ship Street Great, Ship Street Little, Bride Street, Chancery Lane and Golden Lane. Of the nine cuttings excavated five were concentrated on the site of the church of St. Michael le Pole, where three broad phases were recognised:

1. Pre-12th-century activity represented by postholes, pits, gullies, a lintel grave and other burials.

2. A 12th-century stone church [DU018-020082-] and probable foundations of Round Tower belfry. The west gable of the church. 7.2m long and 0.9m wide, and foundation courses of adjoining parts of the north and south walls were uncovered.

3. Post-1682 reuse of the church as a schoolhouse (1706) and almshouse (1787), and eventual replacement by schoolhouse of 1900.

Deposits of medieval and post-medieval date were found in cuttings on the margins of the site towards Bride Street, Ship Street Great and Golden Lane' (1980-84:0099 - St. Michael le Pole, Ship Street, Dublin; www.excavations.ie).

NLI PD 1958 TX 5, National library of Ireland, The Old Tower of Michael of Pole, Dublin. A Collection of Drawings of the Principal, Antique Buildings of Ireland.

NLI National library of Ireland, The round tower at Michael a Pools [St. Michael le Pole] Church, near Ship Street, Dublin, called Michael a Pullibus. Sketch book of antiquities [graphic] / by Sir W. Betham.