North Main Street (Irish: An Phríomhshráid Thuaidh)[1] is a street and retail area in Cork City, Ireland. Joined by bridge with South Main Street in the 12th century,[2] it formed the main thoroughfare within the original city walls of medieval Cork.[3] As of the 21st century, it is predominantly occupied by commercial and retail premises, some of which are built upon earlier structures.[4]
 North Main Street in 2023, as seen from south side | |
| Native name | An Phríomhshráid Thuaidh (Irish) |
|---|---|
| Length | 300 m (980 ft) |
| Width | 17 metres (56 ft) |
| Location | Cork, Ireland |
| Postal code | T12 |
| Coordinates | 51°53′59″N 8°28′43″W / 51.89984°N 8.47852°W |
| north end | North Gate Bridge, Kyrl's Quay, Bachelor's Quay |
| Major junctions | Shandon Street, Washington Street |
| south end | Castle Street, Liberty Street, South Main Street |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | 13th century |
| Other | |
| Known for | St. Peter's Cork, shops |
History
editMedieval Cork City was separated in two by channels of the River Lee, with the northern part of the main street being the North Main Street and the southern island containing the South Main Street, both of which were connected by a bridge built in 1190.[2] It is not believed that North Main Street was extensively inhabited until the 13th century, following the walling of the northern island in sandstone, after which it became the main street of medieval Cork. At this time, the population of the walled city consisted primarily of Anglo-Norman merchant families.[5][6] Property on North Main Street was divided into strips running perpendicular to the street, known as burgage plots.[2]
A number of archaeological excavations of the area have revealed the remains of houses which were Anglo-Norman in style, made mainly of timber and wattle. The building of houses from timber posed a fire risk, and declined after May 1622, when a lightning strike on North Main Street resulted in a loss of 1500 houses in the city.[5] Other 20th century excavations focused on Skiddy's Castle, a 15th century tower house which became a gunpowder magazine for a period, prior to its demolition in the late 18th century.[7][8][9]
At the top of the North Main street in medieval Cork was the North Gate Bridge and adjacent North Gate Castle, which later saw use as a jail.[10][11] The street was also the principal street of the parish of St. Peter's,[12] the parish church now in use as the Cork Vision Centre.[5] In the 1820s, St Patrick's Street began to overtake North Main Street as the primary business street of the city.[13] Slum clearances were conducted around North Main Street in the 1850s and late 1870s, the former "cosmetic rather than socially ameliorative," the latter as part of a rehousing initiative.[14]
A number of businesses on North Main Street were destroyed by fire in late November 1920, shortly before the Burning of Cork on 11 December 1920.[15]
Later development
editNorth Main street has undergone some redevelopment in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with the construction of a cinema, apartment blocks and a shopping centre. A heritage conservation project was carried out on the street in the mid-1990s.[16] The street was also included in the "Painting and Facade Scheme" in 2016, which received grant aid from Cork City Council to give incentive to building owners in some parts of the city centre to paint their buildings.[17][18] A number of groups, including the 'North Main Street Traders' Association', have advocated further initiatives to 'rejuvenate' the street - following 'a decline' in commercial activity in the early 21st century.[19][20][21]
References
edit- ^ "An Phríomhshráid Thuaidh / North Main Street". logainm.ie. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Medieval City of Cork > About Cork > CorkCity.ie". www.corkcity.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ Barker, Tommy (14 May 2020). "New life promised for Cork's North Main Street as €25m project is first of several planned". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
North Main Street [..] was Cork's main medieval city spine thoroughfare some 800 years ago
- ^ "The Central Shoe Store, 54 North Main Street, Cork City, Cork". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
Built on the site of the medieval city, many of these [North Main Street] buildings contain archaeological fabric.
- ^ a b c "Cork Heritage » 2b. Life in Medieval Cork". corkheritage.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "The Walls of Cork > About Cork > - CorkCity.ie". www.corkcity.ie. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Skiddy's Castle". Cork Past & Present. Cork City Libraries. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
Skiddy's Castle stood near the junction of present-day Adelaide Street and the North Main Street [.and.] after 1601 it [..] was used as a gunpowder magazine [.before.] most of the building was demolished in the late 1770s
- ^ Henry A. Jefferies (November 2010). "Viking Cork". History Ireland. Vol. 18, no. 6.
Between 1974 and 1977 Dermot Twohig of UCC supervised major archaeological excavations at Skiddy's Castle, off North Main Street
- ^ Charles Smith (1815). The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork (Volume 1). Cork: John Connor. p. 368.
- ^ "North Main Street - Cork Past & Present". www.corkpastandpresent.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "North Main Street Cork - The Marsh Cork | Cork City Centre". Cork City Centre. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ Lewis, Kae. "The Historical Records of Cork, Ireland". www.corkrecords.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Historic Outline - Cork Past & Present". www.corkpastandpresent.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ Cronin, Maura (2005). "Place, Class and Politics". In Crowley, John; Devoy, Robert; Linehan, Denis; O'Flanagan, Patrick (eds.). Atlas of Cork City. Cork University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-85918-380-9.
- ^ Gerry White; Brendan O'Shea (2006). The Burning of Cork. Mercier Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-85635-522-3.
- ^ Mansergh, Nicholas (2005). "Planning and Development". In Crowley, John; Devoy, Robert; Linehan, Denis; O'Flanagan, Patrick (eds.). Atlas of Cork City. Cork University Press. pp. 408, 426. ISBN 978-1-85918-380-9.
- ^ "Council urged to expand painting grant initiative". 6 January 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Painting and Facade Scheme | Cork City Centre". Cork City Centre. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Raft of changes urged to reinvigorate historic Cork street". Irish Examiner. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "North Main Street Planning Study" (PDF). UCC Centre for Planning Education & Research. 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "City Hall hits back at Smiddy saying his criticisms are not credible". Evening Echo. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.