Iiiustrated buildings from 1835. (Dublin Penny Journal)
Views In Dublin (A Double Supplement to the Third Volume of TheDublin Penny Journal, June 1835). . .*
irishparl.jpg (29564 bytes)Dublin, the metropolis of Ireland, in population and extent the second city of the British empire, and supposed to be the sixth or seventh in Europe, is situated oh the eastern coast of the island, in, latitude;. 53 degrees 21’ N. and long. 6 degrees 15’ W. It is traversed from west to east, and divided into nearly two equal parts, by the Anna Liffey, a river of considerable magnitude.
In the reign of James I stone or brick began to be commonly used in the construction of private habitations, and from that period the city has continued progressively to increase both in extent and beauty. In 1610, the entire circuit of its walls, which were wholly confined to the south side, did not exceed a mile. At present the length of the city from east to west is little short of three miles, and its breadth almost the. same. It contains above 800 streets, squares, lanes, alleys, courts, &c. more than 22,000 houses, and above 200,000 inhabitants.
To the eastward on both sides of the river, streets and squares of the most spacious airy, and elegant description, have been erected within the last fifty years. Fitzwilliam-square, together with several elegant streets, have recently been formed toward the south-east. Most of the streets are well paved being Macadamized in the centre for carriages; while on either side generally speaking, and with the exception or that part of the city denominated the Liberty, there is a well-flagged foot-path.
The city is lighted with gas, and the inhabitants enjoy a plentiful supply of excellent water from the Grand and Royal Canals, conveyed by pipes from large reservoirs or basins, constructed at the north and south sides of the liver. The city is encompassed by a circular-road, about nine miles in length, and nearly on three sides by the Grand and Royal Canals which terminate in docks communicating with the Liffey near its mouth.
Previous to the Union, Dublin was the constant or occasional residence of 271 temporal and spiritual Peers, and 300 members of the House of Commons. At present, about half a dozen Peers, and some 15 or 20 members of the House of Commons have a settled dwelling within its precincts.
Other persons of this exalted class of society whom., business or amusement may draw to the capital occasionally, take up their residence at one of the hotels of which there are a great number in the city. The resident gentry of Dublin now amount to about 2,000 families, including clergymen and physicians, besides nearly an equal number of lawyers and attorneys, who occasionally reside there. The families engaged in trade and commerce are calculated at about 5,000, and the whole may yield a population of 60,000 or 70,000 in, the higher and middle ranks of society.
A material change is observed in the manners of the populace of Dublin, their ancient amusements of bull-baiting, hurling, cudgel-playing and wrestling, are almost wholly laid aside. They are still, however careful to observe memorable days particularly the festival of St. Patrick which is distinguished by the shamrock being almost universally worn, and copious libations of the native beverage are poured out to the patron saint.
A grand ball and supper is given on that night in the Castle. Formerly there were seven theatres well supported; at present the only one which remains is frequently very thinly attended.
Club-houses and gaming houses are nearly deserted; and even among the lower classes, open vice and profligacy have visibly diminished.
The King’s Birth-day is observed with much ceremony in Dublin. It commences with a grand review of the troops in the Phoenix Park, by the Lord Lieutenant, which is succeeded by a levee at the Castle, to which the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriffs; proceed in state; and the mail-coaches, splendidly equipped move through the principal streets.
The following sketch of the Irish metropolis, by “American Tourist”, who travelled through the country about 30 years since, will not, perhaps, be out of place; unfortunately the descriptions, although a little too coloured. are in many instances but too just, as the stranger travelling through this beautiful island has seldom much fault to find with the house of demesne of a gentleman; but all his sympathies are called forth by seeing the miserably wretched condition of the Irish “cottager”. As far as the eye can reach, tracts of ground are in, the possession of these poor people, who, having nothing to lay out upon them but the sweat of their limbs, extort by reiterated toil what wilt barely keep their families from starvation, and pay their rents, but have not a shilling left with which to make any improvement.
“This city,” says the Tourist, “presents the most extraordinary contrast of poverty and magnificence to be met with in Europe. As you approach it, you find the suburbs composed of hovels, the sides or which are partly earth, the rook of turf, the whole dimensions of each not exceeding 12 or 14 feet square.
These miserable caves may or may not have a hole for a window, and an aperture on the top, to let out the smoke, if the luxury or are can be afforded. Around the door the dirty children are huddled - not one half of them are decently clad; some of them still evince notions of civilization by slinking into a house, or turning their bare parts against a wall.
I saw hundreds whose whole dress, consisting of a mass of rags, of all colours and all sorts of fabrics, will not furnish one piece of cloth eight inches square
- and these tatters seemed to be sewed together only to prevent them deserting each other.
Having passed the suburbs, the dwellings improve; and, on reaching Sackville-street, you imagine yourself in one of the most elegant cities in Europe. In walking over the city, the late Parliament House, (now the Bank,) the Exchange, the quay along the Liffey, and several of the public squares excite the stranger’s admiration.
There is no part of London which can compare with the centre of Dublin in beauty and magnificence. But, in turning the eye from the architectural splendour which surrounds him, upon the crowds which flow along the streets, the stranger will be struck with the motley nature of the throng. Here is a; lass almost buoyant with satin and. feathers; there is a trembling girl of eighteen, purple from cold, shrinking from shame, and drawing around her the poor rags which, with all her care, scarce cover her body; here is an exquisite, perfuming the air as he passes, with. rings on his fingers, diamonds on his brooch, and a gemmed quizzing-glass at his side; there is an honest fellow who cannot. afford a hat, whose feet, summer or winter, know not the luxury of shoe or stocking, and whose whole wardrobe consists or two articles, viz. a tattered jacket, and about half a pair of small-clothes; and, .not to multiply pictures, while the Lord Lieutenant dashes by in a coach and four, the stranger gazes at the gallant and costly pageant, while he empties his pocket to satisfy the throng of beggars who pray him, in the name of God, to give them a penny.”
Happily for the citizens and the traveller, the last remark does not now apply, as beggars are not allowed on the streets; the Mendicity Society providing what is at least sufficient to keep them from starvation. Should the American Tourist again have occasion to visit the metropolis, he would find the state of things much improved; although it must be admitted that in many parts of the interior of the country his descriptions would be found to be but too faithful delineations of what still really exists, but, at least for a considerable distance around the city, the. squalid wretchedness and the miserable dwellings he describes are not now to be met with.
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Carlisle Bridge**
Carlisle-bridge, which connects Sackville-street, the greatest leading street in the City, with Westmoreland-street, is a point from which several. views present themselves, unequalled in grandeur, beauty, and extent, by any which could be obtained from any one given point in another city of Europe. The long continued line of quays extending right through the centre of the city from Ringsend Point to the Military road, a distance of nearly three miles. In the direction of the Bay, the Custom House, rising at a little distance in all the beauty of classical architecture and surrounded by ships and other vessels of considerable size, which approach quite close to the bridge to the west (the opposite direction,) the bridges, crowded with busy mortals passing and repassing; in the distant perspective, the Four Courts, and different Churches, whose lofty domes and rising spires are seen towering above the intervening buildings. In front (to the north,) Sackville-street, one of the most splendid streets in Europe, having in its Centre the noble Pillar erected to commemorate the achievements of the immortal Nelson; on the left, the New Post Office, a specimen of elegant and chaste architecture - the view being terminated by the Rotunda and Rutland-square: while on the south side, at the extremity of Westmoreland-street, (a modern and splendid pile of building,) stands Trinity College to the left, and to the right the eastern portico and wing of the Bank of Ireland, and College-green.
(This spot was formerly the place of public execution. In the year 1328, Adam Duff O’Toole was burned here, having been convicted of blasphemy, in denying the incarnation of Christ and the Trinity in Unity; and for affirming that the Virgin Mary was a harlot; that there was no resurrection; that the Scriptures were a mere fable; and that the Apostolical See was an imposture and usurpation. Roger Outlaw, the prior of Kilmainham, was accused of heresy at the same time, but he was honourably acquitted).
The Custom-House, which stands on Eden-quay, on the north bank of the Liffey, a short distance from Carlisle-bridge, is a magnificent structure. It is 375 feet in length, and 205 in depth, and exhibits four decorated floats, answering almost directly to the four cardinal points of the compass- the south being the principal front. In the interior are two courts, divided from each other by the centre pile, which is 100 feet broad, and runs from north to south the whole depth of the building. The south, or sea flout, is composed of pavilions at each end, joined by arcades, and united to the centre.
It is finished in the Doric order, with an. entablature, and bold projecting cornice. A superb dome, one. hundred and twenty feet in height, surmounts the whole, on the top of which is a statue of hope resting on her anchor, sixteen feet high. The north front has a portico of four pillars in the centre but no pediment.
The south front is entirely Portland stone: the other three of mountain granite. This great edifice is jointly the House of Customs and Excise. The Long-room is the only apartment worthy of the visitor’s notice.
On the east of the Custom-house is a wet dock capable of containing forty sail of vessels; along the quay that bounds it on the east and north is a range of capacious and commodious houses.
It is a curious circumstance, that about two hundred years since, nearly the entire space that the eye can command from right to left, in this position, including the ground on which stands the Custom House, the houses on the Bachelor’s-walk, the two Ormond-quays, Inns-quay, was entirely covered with ouse, and overflowed by the tides, to within about eighty yards of Trinity Collegeon the south.
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The Bank of Ireland, formerly the Parliament House.**
eastfront.jpg (29820 bytes)Is situated in College-green, and stands nearly at right angles with the west front of the College, giving a grandeur of scene to that fine area, which can scarcely be surpassed. This noble edifice, built entirely of Portland stone, while appropriated to its original purpose, was considered the finest senate-house in Europe.
The grand portico in College-Green which extends 147 feet, is of the Ionic order and though destitute of the usual architectural decorations derives all its beauty from a simple impulse of fine art and is one of the few instances of form only, expressing true symmetry.
It was commenced in 1729, under the administration of Lord Carteret, and completed in ten years, at an expense of nearly £40,000. In 1785, it being deemed necessary to give a distinct entrance to the House of Lords, a noble portico of six Corinthian columns, covered by a handsome pediment, was erected. This, though evidently an architectural incongruity, (the columns of the principal front being Ionic,) has a very fine effect when viewed from College-street, as represented in one of the accompanying drawings. The front view which we give (see top of page), is an exact representation of the building before the alterations or improvements in Westmoreland-street were made. An entrance was afterwards made on the western side, and completed in 1794. The expense of these additions was upwards of £50,000.
Since the purchase of this fine building for its present use, many alterations have taken place to accommodate it to the purposes required. The exterior has been much improved. A complete connection was effected between the east and west ends and the centre, by circular screen-walls, ornamented with Ionic columns, between which are niches for statues, the whole producing a fine effect.
The tympanum of the pediment in front has in the centre the royal arms, and on its apex a figure of Hibernia, with Commerce on her left hand, and Fidelity on her right. The pediment over the east front is also ornamented with statues of Fortitude, Justice, and Liberty.
The interior of this superb edifice frilly corresponds with the majesty of its external appearance. While used as a senate-house, the middle door under the portico led directly to the House of Commons, passing through a great hall called the Court of Requests. The Commons-room formed a circle, 55 feet in diameter, inscribed in a square. The seats were disposed around the room in concentric circles, rising above each other.
A rich hemispherical dome, supported by sixteen Corinthian columns, crowned the whole. Between the pillars a narrow gallery was handsomely fitted tip for the convenience of the public. A beautiful corridor communicated by three doors with the committee-rooms, coffee rooms, &c.
The House of Lords, to the right of the Commons, is also a noble apartment, ornamented at each end with Corinthian columns. An entablature goes round the room, covered with a rich trunk ceiling, and in a circular recess at the upper end was placed the throne of the Viceroy, under a rich canopy of crimson velvet. This room remains unaltered; it is now designated the Court of Proprietors. It is 73 feet long by 30 broad, and the walls are ornamented with two large pieces of tapestry, representing the battle of the Boyne and the siege of Londonderry, in a state of excellent preservation.
At the upper end stands a statue of his late Majesty in his parliamentary robes, admirably executed in white marble, by J. Bacon, jun. of London, at the expense of £2,000. The pedestal on which it stands is ornamented with figures of Religion and Justice. Elegant corridors lead to the different offices, which. are lighted ,from the roof or the interior courts.
On the 27th of February, 1792, between the hours of five and six in the evening, while the members were sitting, a fire broke out in the Commons-house, and entirely consumed that noble apartment, but did little other damage. It is conjectured to have taken place by the breaking of one of the flues, which run through the walls to warm the house, and so communicated fire to the timber in the building. Its present construction very nearly resembles the old: it is circular; the other was octangular.
In 1804, this beautiful, edifice was again threatened with destruction, a fire having broken out under the portico, which did considerable damage before it could be extinguished. Several of the columns were so much injured, that pieces had to be inserted in them in different places.
The Union between Great Britain and Ireland - effected in 1800, having rendered a Parliament House in Dublin altogether unnecessary, this noble building was purchased from Government by the Bank of Ireland, for the sum of £40,000, subject to a ground-rent of £240 per annum. The interior was then fitted up in the most ‘elegant and convenient manner, from the plans of Francis Johnston, Esq.
The Cash-office stands nearly on the site of the Court of Requests, to the right of the hall; the length of this fine room is 70 feet, the breadth 53 and the height 50, and it contains 550 square feet more than the Cash-office of the Bank of England.
The walls are pannelled with Bath stone and ornamented with twenty-four fluted Ionic columns of Portland stone supporting a rich entablature. The doors desks, &c. are mahogany and, the office is well lighted by an elegant lantern in the ceiling, which is coved, and richly ornamented.
There is besides, under the entablature, a range of twenty-four windows, seven of which being glazed with looking-glass, produce an admirable effect. In this office lodgments are made, notes issued and exchanged, and drafts examined, marked and paid. It is open from ten to three o’clock each day.
In the western side is a room called the Library, 86 feet by 34, with presses for books, papers, &c. In another room is to be seen a fine model of this superb edifice. It will give a more correct idea of the professional talents of the architect than a view of even the building itself. Every precaution is adopted to guard against fire and external violence. There are two large tanks in the yards, and one on the root well supplied with water, and several fire engines.
The whole of the building, including courtyards, covers one acre, two roods, and thirteen and a half perches of ground; and on the root which is for the most part flat, a regiment of soldiers might be drawn up in time of danger.
In Foster’s-place, on the west side, a handsome guard-room has been erected, to accommodate fifty men. Here is also the printing-office, an object well deserving the attention of the curious in mechanics. It is situated in the rere of the building, and is under the immediate superintendence and control of Mr. Oldham, a very ingenious artist.
The notes are printed by machines worked by steam, on a construction altogether new, being Mr. Oldham’s own invention. To prevent forgeries, a machine has been adopted, which produces fac-similes of the various copper plates; and to render the imitation still more difficult, and, at the same time to prevent the workmen employed from appropriating any copies to themselves, there is another machine; which numbers the notes consecutively as far as one hundred thousand, without being subject to the control of the operator; to this a small box, glazed in the top, is attached, in which a duplicate impression appears of each number, as worked off’ by the printer.
To increase the means of security, the clerks and officers of the Bank are formed into a corps of yeomanry; and a neat armoury, containing a sufficient quantity of arms and accoutrements, are kept in perfect order within the Bank. By an application to the Secretary, or by an introduction to any of the clerks, the whole of the interior may be viewed at any time.
This establishment was first incorporated in the year 1783, and is under the superintendence of a Governor, Deputy Governor, and fifteen Directors, who are annually chosen the first week in April, five new Directors, at least, being elected every year. The qualification necessary for a Governor is to be in the actual possession of £5,000 in stock, for a Deputy Governor £3,000, and for the Directors £2 000 each. The profits of the Batik arise from their traffic in bullion, and the discounting of bills of exchange. **
Dublin Castle**
uppercastle.jpg (29601 bytes)Is situated on the highest ground, and nearly in the centre of the city. It is divided into two courts, the upper and the lower. The upper court, which contains the apartments of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, is a quadrangle, two hundred and eighty feet long by one hundred and thirty feet broad, with uniform buildings on every side
Over the principal entrance from Cork-hill, is an elegant statue of Justice, and over the other gate a statue of Fortitude. The Viceroy’s apartments occupy the whole of the south side, and part of the east end: the remainder of the court being occupied by the apartments and offices of the Chief Secretary and various officers of the, household.
The grand approach to the viceregal apartments is a colonnade, at the termination of which is a handsome flight of steps, which leads to the yeomen’s hall, and from thence to the presence-chamber, which is furnished with a throne and canopy, covered with crimson velvet, and richly ornamented with gold lace and carved-work gilt.
The object which attracts the greatest attention is the ballroom, or St. Patrick’s hall, so called since the institution of the Order of Knights of St. Patrick. This noble room, which is eighty-two feet long, forty-one feet broad, and thirty-eight high, is decorated with some fine paintings, particularly the ceiling, the flat of which is divided into three compartments, an oblong rectangle at each end, and a circle in the middle. In one of the rectangles, St. Patrick is represented converting the Irish to Christianity; and in the other, Henry II. Seated under a canopy, receives the submissions of the Irish chieftains. In the circle, his late majesty King George III. is seen, supported by Liberty and Justice, while various allegorical representations allude to the happy effects resulting to this country from his auspicious reign. The cornice of the room is also richly painted. At either end is a gallery for the musicians arid spectators.
The lower court, though larger, (being two hundred and fifty feet by two hundred and twenty,) is more, irregular in form, and very inferior in appearance. On the north side are the Treasury, the Hanaper, Register,and Auditor-General’s Offices. The Ordnance Office, which is a modern brick building, stands at the east end, where also the arsenal, and an armoury, containing arms for a thousand men, with some cannon and mortars, beside guard-houses, riding-houses, stables, &c. there is a lawn, adorned with trees and shrubs, called the Castle-garden, with which the viceregal apartments communicate by a large flight of steps from the terrace before the front.
This building was first intended to be a fortress or citadel to secure the English interest in Ireland; and, was deemed a place of considerable strength. The entrance from the city on the north side was by a draw-bridge placed between two strong round towers from Castle-street, the westward of which subsisted till the year 1776.
A portcullis, armed with iron, between these towers, served as a second defence in case the bridge should be surprised by an enemy. A high curtain extended from the western tower to Cork-tower, so, called after the great Earl of Cork, who ‘in 1624 expended a considerable sum in the rebuilding of it. The wall was then continued of equal height until it joined Bermingham towel; the strongest and highest of the whole. This tower, which was afterwards used as a prison for state criminals, was taken down in 1775, and the present building erected on the, site, for preserving part of the ancient records of the kingdom.
From this another high curtain extended to the Wardrobe-towel; which served as a repository for the royal robe, the cap of maintenance, and the other furniture of state. From this tower the wall was carried to the North or Store-house tower (now demolished,) near Dame’s-gate, and from thence it was continued to the eastern gate-way tower, at the entrance of the Castle.
This fortress was on originally encompassed with a broad and deep moat which has been long since filled tip. There were two sally ports in the walls, one towards Sheep (now Ship), street which was closed up in 1665, by the Duke of Ormond, after the discovery of Jephson and Blood’s conspiracy. The other, which afforded a passage to the back-yard and out-offices north of the Wardrobe-tower; remained till the curtain on, that side was taken down to make room for a new pile of buildings, were the Council-chamber and a new range of offices for the secretaries stand.
The Castle of Dublin is generally supposed to have been commenced in 1205 by Meyler Fitzhenry. Lord Justice, natural son to king Henry 11. and finished in 1220 by Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin, but did not become the royal seat of government until the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
Previous to that period the Chief Governors sometimes held their court in the Archbishop’s Palace at St. Sepulchre’s, sometimes at Thomas court, but frequently at the Castle of Kilmainham
A tempest having damaged this house in 1559, Queen Elizabeth issued her mandate for preparing the Castle of Dublin for the reception of the Chief Governors; and the work was completed by Sir Henry Sidney in 1567, and from that period it has continued to be the town residence of the viceroy.
The custody of the Castle was formerly entrusted to a constable, gentleman-porter, and a body of warder, consisting, previous to the invention of gunpowder, of archers and pikemen.
A guard of horse and foot, with regimental music, mounts at the Castle ‘every morning, at 11 o’clock, in the same manner as at the Horse Guards in London.
Numerous interesting narratives might be collected relative to transactions which occurred from time to time within the precincts of the Castle of Dublin, of individuals who, as state prisoners, were confined in its strong holds.
There can be no doubt that sufficient materials exist for a work, fully as interesting as any of those published by Sir Walter Scott, in reference to the olden times of the sister kingdom, which have been perused by thousands with such interest and pleasure.
The following is an account of a judicial combat, being an appeal at arms to support the justice of a cause, which was decided in the presence of the Lords Justices in the inner court of the Castle, at so comparatively recent a date as the 16th century – In the year 1583 Connor Mac Cormack O’Connor impeached Teig Mac Gilpatrick O’Connor, before the Lords Justices (Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, and Sir Henry Wallon) and Council, for killing his men under protection.
Teig, the defendant, pleaded that the apellant’s men had since they had taken protection, confederated with the rebel Cahir O’Connor, and, therefore, were also rebels and that he was ready to maintain his plea by combat.
The challenge being accepted by the appellant, all things were prepared to try the issue and time and place appointed, according to precedents drawn from the laws of England in such cases.
The weapons, being sword and target, were chosen by the defendant, and the next day appointed for the combat.
The Lords Justices, the Judges and Councillors attended in places set apart for them, every man according to his rank and most of the military officers, for the greater solemnity of the trial were present.
The combatants were seated on two stools at each end of the inner court of the Castle. The Court being called, the appellant was led forward from big stool within the lists, stripped to his shirt, and searched by the Secretary of State, having no arms but his sword and target and taking a corporal oath, that his quarrel was just he made his reverence to the Lords Justices and the Court, and then was conducted back to his stool.
The same ceremony was observed as to the defendant.
Then the pleadings were openly read, and the appellant was demanded, whether he would aver his appeal.
Which he answering in the affirmative, the defendant was also asked whether he would confess the action, or abide the trial of the same, He also answered, that he would aver his plea by the sword.
The signal being given by the sound of trumpet, they began the combat with great resolution The appellant received two wounds in his leg, and one in his eye, and thereupon attempted to close the, defendant, who, being too strong for him, pummelled him till he loosened his murrion, and then with his own sword cut off his head, and on the point thereof presented it to the Lords Justices, and so his acquittal was recorded. **
The Lying-in Hospital and Rotunda**
rotunda.jpg (29711 bytes)These magnificent buildings form a very distinguishing feature, in the city. The principal front is to Great Britain-street. Its centre, decorated with four Doric columns on a rustic basement, and supporting a beautiful entablature and pediment, the whole crowned with a domed steeple, has a very elegant effect.
Ornamental colonnades communicate with the wings - which have also Doric columns, and, vases at top - that to the east serving as an entrance to the Rotunda, a noble circular room erected in the year 1757, and the other buildings connected’ with the Hospital which run parellel with Cavendish-row.
The inside of the Rotunda has a very pleasing appearance. It is eighty feet in diameter, and forty feet in height, without any middle support. It is decorated around with pilasters of the Corinthian order, eighteen in number, and twenty five feet high, standing on pedestals; above which, between the pilasters, are enriched windows, which appear on the outside.
The ceiling is flat, with large and bold compartments.
The ornaments of the whole are now somewhat antiquated but it has, nevertheless, a grand effect when illumined on public nights.
The other rooms consist of two principal apartments, one over the other eighty-six feet long by forty broad; the lower is the ball, the other the supper and tea room. There is a smaller ball-room on the ground floor, which also serves as a room for refreshments when the larger is occupied.
The Rotunda Gardens were originally planned and laid out by Dr. Bartholemew Mosse, for purpose of providing a fund, to arise out of their public exhibition, for the maintenance of the noble hospital whose erection he contemplated.
He had previously opened an asylum for poor pregnant women in George’s-lane, (the first attempted in the empire), but finding it much too small for the reception of the numerous applicants, conceived the idea of the princely Lying-in Hospital of Dublin. The benevolent man had already risked his whole fortune in the completion of’ the garden; but, undeterred by this obstacle, he raised money for his favourite purpose by lottery-schemes, and on his own credit; and commenced the building in 1751.
The entire failure of one or his schemes in 1754, alone induced him to petition Parliament on behalf of his laudable undertaking, when the sum of £12,000 was liberally granted him to finish the edifice, with the addition or £2 000 as a personal remuneration.
In 1756, the doctor obtained the charter of incorporation; in 1757, the structure was opened for the reception of patients; and, after the lapse or two years only, having much impaired his health by too unremitting attention to his grand object, the philanthropic founder was no more.
His bust in the interior surmounts a pedestal, on which appears the following pithy and expressive’ inscription:
Bart. Mosse, M.D.
Miseris Solamen
Instituit.
MDCCLVII.
The gardens are open as a promenade on several evenings of the week during the summer season, with the attractions of a band of music and illuminations. Admittance is obtained at the small charge of a six-pence.
Besides the levees and the assemblies occasionally held at the Castle, balls and concerts are frequently given at the Rotunda for charitable purposes, which are generally well attended. **
Aqueduct, Phibsborough.**
aqueduct.jpg (29962 bytes)This handsome structure, which crosses the great north-western exit from the city, connects the Royal Canal, by a branch or one mile and a half, with its spacious docks in the immediate vicinity of’ the Custom House. It is an object well worthy the attention of those who may not before have had an opportunity of examining similar specimens of human contrivance. The engraving will afford a better idea of the structure, than any verbal description we could give, in the space allotted to the subject.
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King’s-Bridge**
kingsbridge.jpg (31372 bytes)This useful and ornamental building crosses the Liffey a little way from the south-east entrance to the Phoenix Park.
The foundation stone was laid on the 12th December, 1827, by the. Marquis Wellesley, at that time the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It forms one great arch one hundred feet in diameter, composed entirely of cast metal - the butments are or handsomely cut mountain granite. It is called King’s Bridge from the circumstance of the amount paid for its erection, £13,000, having been collected for the purpose of raising a national monument to commemorate the interesting event of his Majesty George the Fourth’s visit to Ireland in 1821.
Several plans and measures were proposed, and a considerable delay took place in appropriating the fund collected; at length a bridge across the Liffey on the present site was agreed upon, and the idea sanctioned by his Majesty.
The original intention was to place a triumphal arch over the centre, surmounted by an equestrian statue of his Majesty; but whether or not this will now be done is doubtful.
The buildings seen in the distance are the Royal Barracks, which are not to be surpassed in Europe, for extent and grandeur of architecture. These barracks, erected by government in the year 1706, possess a commanding view both of the city and adjacent country, with the Wickkow mountains in the distance., They consist or four squares, of which the Royal Square is the principal, and the most embellished. Altogether they can accommodate 5,000 men.
It is right, perhaps, to say, that the foregoing descriptions have principally been taken from “The Picture of Dublin”, a work (though published anonymously) prepared by ourselves for Messrs. W. Curry, Jun. And Co. of Sackville-street, and to which we would refer those of our readers who may be anxious for further information relative to the history of the City, its buildings, and inhabitants.