Dun Laoghaire shelters on the move.

In Search of Shelter

Restored Cabmen's shelters. (19784 bytes)The Parks’ Department of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council  has recently restored two of the five shelters on the seafront in Dun Laoghaire and plan to relocate the remainder in the Peoples’ Park.

In recent years the shelters have been repeatedly attacked by vandals and the hope is that the move will prevent further deterioration of the structures.

Jean Malone of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Heritage Project has been researching the history of the shelters and has been able to provide some details - but there is one question which she hope someone may be able to help her with.

“The elegant squares, terraced houses, smart hotels and maritime amenities of 19th century Kingstown are well documented. What we attempt here is to unravel the original location of the five shelters presently situated along the Queen’s Road adjacent to the harbour. Perhaps you can help?

The first illustrated evidence of the shelters in Kingstown are those situated adjoining the baths at Victoria Beach Gardens in a photograph dated by the National Museum between 1910 and 1915.

The original baths on this site were built by John Crostwaite in 1843, and were situated close to the shore on the east pier side of Harbour Road (now Queen’s Road).

By 1843 the area surrounding the baths was already well-developed with blocks of fine terraced houses and a number of detached houses in close proximity overlooking the sea; one of which was the newly built Harbour Master’s House (now Moran Park House, home of the Heritage Society and soon to open as a Marconi Museum).

Towards the close of the century the Town Council decided to demolish the old Victorian baths and rebuild a more luxurious establishment as part of their new development and improvement policy.

In October 1894, the Town Council minutes reads: “A proposal is put forward for the further improvement of the baths and adjoining ground”.

Records show that in 1900, the year of Queen Victoria’s visit, Mr. W. Sheppard won the contract for the laying out of Beach Gardens followed shortly by a further contract for the planting of 100 trees on the Harbour Road, which changed to Queen’s Road in 1901, in honour of Queen Victoria’s visit.

The Town Council’s plan was furthered in 1909 when the old baths, together with fittings and fixtures including floor and roof, were sold for £40.

Vandalised shelter. (29695 bytes)The new baths were finally built between 1905 and 1911, and, according to maps of the time, they were situated on a slightly elevated level just behind the area they first occupied.

The new baths equipped in first-class style offered the luxury and amenities to attract not only the local community, but also the rapidly expanding tourist trade.

The Town Council minutes record the erection of a shelter at Victoria Beach the expense of which was to come from the beach extension account, yet there are no references in the minutes of the five shelters depicted in the photograph 1910-15.

However, Robbie Brennan, a local resident and prominent member of Dun Laoghaire History Society recalls playing around them as a child in the 1920’s. An illustrated guide book dated 1928 shows Beach Gardens, minus the shelters.

Why were the shelters dismantled and reassembled in their present position on the Queen’s Road? We would love to hear from you.”

The Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Heritage Society can be contacted at Moran Park House, Dun Laoghaire, phone Dublin 2054700, ext. 4026.

This article was researched by Jean Malone for Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Heritage Project.

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