The Manor of St. Sepulchre (also known as the Archbishop's Liberty) was one of several manors, or liberties, that existed in Dublin, Ireland since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were townlands united to the city, but still preserving their own jurisdiction. St. Sepulchre's was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Dublin, although from time to time the Dublin city government claimed ownership of it.Parliamentary Papers: Reports from Commissioners, Vol. 24. Session: 4 February - 20 August 1836. House of Commons, London.

Location

The importance of the Manor of St. Sepulchre was enhanced in that it consisted of a number of manors, many of which lay outside the city or even the county of Dublin. The manor of St. Sepulchre in the city was the principal manor. The city manor boundaries stretched from Bishop St. to

St. Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by Lo ...

, along

Harcourt Street Harcourt Street is a street located in Dublin City, Ireland. Location It is a little over in length with its northerly start at the south-east corner of St Stephen's Green and terminates in the south at the point where Adelaide road become ...

Donnybrook Donnybrook may refer to: Places Australia * Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia * Donnybrook, Western Australia * Donnybrook, Victoria, Australia ** Donnybrook railway station, Victoria, Australia Canada * Donnybrook, Ontario, a former village in ...

, across Rathgar to Harold's Cross and back along

Clanbrassil Street Clanbrassil Street (; ) is a street in Dublin south of the city centre. It runs from Robert Emmet Bridge on the Grand Canal to New Street. It is served by several bus routes. It is divided into Clanbrassil Street Upper (south end) and Clanbrassi ...

. In 1523-4 Archbishop

Hugh Inge Hugh Inge or Ynge(c. 1460 – 3 August 1528) was an English-born judge and prelate in sixteenth century Ireland who held the offices of Bishop of Meath, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Biography Inge was born at Shepton Ma ...

was engaged in a legal dispute with the Mayor and

Corporation of Dublin Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

, who had apparently taken possession of the manor. An Act of the Parliament of Ireland of 2 June 1774 (13 & 14 Geo.III c.34) formed a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

, the Barony of St. Sepulchre, from that part of the manor lying north of the South Circular Road. This had previously been part of the barony of Uppercross. Within it were the civil parishes of St. Kevin, St. Nicholas Without and part of St. Peter's. The barony was abolished by the Dublin Baronies Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c.96), when the area was transferred from the county to the city. Outside the city, there were manors belonging to St. Sepulchre's in Swords, Lusk, Shankhill, Tallaght, Finglas and other places. Each of these manors was governed by a portreeve, who was sworn in each Easter by the

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of St. Sepulchre.

Privileges

In return for the support of the Archbishop, or to alleviate certain hardships suffered by Englishmen or the church in Ireland, privileges were granted to the manor (that is, to the archbishop and his successors) at various times and by various kings of England. These allowed the city manor (and its constituent manors outside the city) to have their own courts of justice (

Courts Leet The court leet was a historical court baron (a type of manorial court) of England and Wales and Ireland that exercised the "view of frankpledge" and its attendant police jurisdiction, which was normally restricted to the hundred courts. Etym ...

, Courts Baron and a

Court of Record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written recor ...

, where they were allowed to try all crimes except "forestalling, rape, treasure-trove and arson"), free customs, freedom from certain taxes and services, impose their own fines, have their own coroners, rights of salvage, maintain their own fairs and markets, regulate weights and measures, etc. For those condemned to death, the archbishop had his own gallows at Harold's Cross. These rights and privileges were ended by the Manor Court of Saint Sepulchre Abolition Act 1856, the last such jurisdiction remaining in Ireland.

Administration

The headquarters of the city manor (and consequently, of all St. Sepulchre manors) was the Palace of St. Sepulchre, located now where Kevin St. Garda barracks stands. This was originally constructed by

John Comyn John Comyn III of Badenoch, nicknamed the Red (c. 1274 – 10 February 1306), was a leading Scottish baron and magnate who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. He served as Guardian of Scotland after the forced ...

, the first Anglo-Norman Archbishop of Dublin, appointed in 1180. The name was suggested by the campaigns being waged by the Crusaders for the recovery of the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

from the Muslims. Comyn was shortly after granted land by the monarchy for the

See of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland ...

, which provided the basis for the manor. This palace remained the seat of the Archbishops of Dublin until 1806. A courthouse (still standing) and gaol for the use of the manor were built in the early 19th century at the corner of Long Lane and Bride St. Most of the prisoners were insolvent debtors. Much of the business of the court related to trading, fairs, weights and measures matters. Attending court was difficult for those manor residents living outside the city, in Swords, Lusk or elsewhere, most of whom were quite poor. The same difficulty applied to jurors, who were fined for not attending court when summoned. All income from court activity went to the Archbishop. In 1813 the population of this manor was 3,728 males and 5,273 females.Government figures quoted in M'Gregor, Picture of Dublin (1821), p. 62

References

Sources

* ** For medieval liberty boundaries see

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manor Of St. Sepulchre History of Dublin (city) Baronies of County Dublin Former baronies of Ireland Places in Dublin (city)