I hope to write a few more posts on this tour. One will be on the tour of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. And, one more will be on the families involved in the history
This 1617 map shows the encircled monastic areas south of the river, at the base of the map, discussed here.
The present huge Dunne's store h.q. on Upper St. Stephen's Street was built over a 9th Century Viking graveyard. Half of all the Viking Graves of warriors with weapons in Britain have been found in Dublin. Too bad the city did not demand some preservation on the site for the public when this was discovered. Viking warriors were discovered, and a settlement was established in the area of the river, of course, in 841 A.D. Not much has been found from this time.
The Catholic missionaries came, establishing a monastic settlement, dating back to the 12th century. The area came to be called Dubh Linn, the Black Pool. Many churches were built, three in the area of the tour, indicating different monastic groupings. The Carmelites and Benedictines would have been some of the earliest orders. The first persecution happened under Henry VIII, of course, in 1539, when the Dissolution of the Monasteries Act was applied to Ireland as well.
In the take-over by the Puritans, the ruins of medieval houses were completely suppressed, finally, and the land given to the Aungier family, whose name graces the first modern street in Dublin, built across the monastic enclosure, and made wider than any other street. The width was ordered so that the new tenants and new builder, the family of Sir Francis Aungier, could travel in style with coaches to the main court. And, what was being built up on either side were large detached mansions and town houses, of massive sizes. This period saw the rise in power of the Flemish merchants as well as the new aristocracy.
One can trace, however, as my tour guide did, the old medieval lanes tucked in behind the 17th century street. Even today, a locksmith's shop is in the same building as an old forge and farrier's.
The gable fronted houses began to appear at the same time as the Georgian town houses, about 1720, The early mansions gradually were taken over by multiple families.
The Carmelites returned to the area in 1825, at what is now, still, Whitefriars Street Church, where the exhibition of the relics of St. Therese and her parents, as well as part of the linen of St. John Vianney were seen until late yesterday.
One of the greatest treasures at Whitefriars is the statue of Our Lady of Dublin, a medieval statue of exquisite beauty and tenderness, found in a pawn shop in 1835. Some records indicate it had been found in the river, after the monasteries were destroyed. The church was built in 1832, and one of my favourite shrines, and there are many, honours Blessed Titus Brandsma, our blog guild patron.
Sadly, too many of the houses were destroyed in the 20th century, after the war, in order to build hideously ugly public housing.
Here is a section from an earlier report quoting my guide, Ms. Nicola Matthews.
Ms Matthews noted that four 17th century town houses on the street have already been protected as national monuments. However, she said the council had identified several others that were not protected structures.
Conservation architects in the council now plan to recommend that a significant number of buildings in the area be added to the Record of Protected Structures.
“These are 17th Century houses,” she added. “It is a unique street and today we have about four of them protected as monuments. The real concern is that a number of them are unprotected and unidentified within the streetscape.”
According to Matthews one of the buildings on the street was built in 1670 and was unprotected. She noted that a planning application had been submitted to the council regarding a building beside the 17th century structure.
“We feel that Aungier Street should be defined,” she added. “We surveyed the local community and they felt that the area had a deficit in terms of cultural events or sites within the area.”
The Aungier Street area was originally home to several early monastic settlements, but in the 17th century Francis Aungier, 1st Baron Aungier of Longford, built the street.
Many of the early houses were built by Aungier, who resided in White Friars monastery, to house the elite of the city.
In the 17th century the street was also very closely linked to Dublin Castle through its association with James Butler, the Duke of Ormond, who lived in the area.
http://www.dublinpeople.com/article.php?id=2061&l=100
By the way, if any American Irish want to help the project, there are some of the early houses up for sale which may be demolished if no one comes forward. You can leave your email in a comment and I shall vet the note before sending it on to Nicola.
To be continued....
