The Four Courts site and surrounding area in medieval times, as depicted in a map prepared by the Friends of Medieval Dublin and printed by the Ordnance Survey. A full zoomable version of the map is available here.

Visible on the map are the Bradogue river and a number of inlets where Chancery Street and Ormond Quay are today, as well as the Priory of St Saviour on the Four Courts site and the old Bridge of Dublin crossing the Liffey beside it. This site was granted to the Dominicans by St Mary’s Abbey in 1224 and they built the Priory on it, collecting a toll from persons crossing the Bridge.

On the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in the 16th century, the site was granted to the Benchers of the King’s Inns and its buildings used as an Inns of Court to provide dining facilities for barristers and judges.

Below is a slightly wider (albeit blurrier) section of the map showing Oxmantown Green to the west and Mary’s Abbey to the east. A full zoomable version of the map is available here.

Image Credit: University of Milwaukee