Sir John Rogerson's Quay

Sir John Rogerson's Quay (Irish: Cé Sir John Rogerson)[2] is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between City Quay in the west and Britain Quay. Named for politician and property developer Sir John Rogerson (1648–1724), the quay was formerly part of Dublin Port. It has some of the few remaining campshire warehouses in Dublin.

Sir John Rogerson's Quay
Offices on Sir John Rogerson's Quay
Sir John Rogerson's Quay is located in Dublin
Sir John Rogerson's Quay
Native nameCé Sir John Rogerson (Irish)
NamesakeJohn Rogerson
Length1.0 km (0.62 mi)
Width25 metres (82 ft)
LocationDublin, Ireland
Postal codeD02
Coordinates53°20′46″N 6°14′24″W / 53.3461°N 6.2399°W / 53.3461; -6.2399
west endCity Quay, Creighton Street
east enddead end
Construction
Construction start1716
Other
Known forDiving bell, office buildings, cafés
Ferryman Hotel (c.1790)[1] flanked by later buildings on the quay
Illustration of the Royal Hibernian Marine School on Sir John Rogerson's Quay in 1779

Construction and use

edit
 
Renovated diving bell (c.1866) on Sir John Rogersons Quay

In 1713, Dublin Corporation leased lands on the Liffey to Sir John Rogerson,[3] who was a developer and had been Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1693 to 1694.[4] The lease of 133 acres (54 ha) on the south bank of the river (described as 'betwixt Lazy Hill and Ringsend') was conditional on Rogerson constructing a quay on the land.[5] As part of the privately funded development,[3][6] a quay wall was built facing the river, with a second wall built further inland. The gap between these walls was filled with sand and gravel dredged from the Liffey.[3] The project commenced in 1716, with the initial phase completed by the early 1720s.[4] John Rocque's 1756 map of Dublin shows Rogerson's quay as largely developed by the mid-18th century.[4][7] During the early 19th century, the quay serviced larger freight vessels, including colliers which brought coal (from ports like Whitehaven in England)[8] to feed the coal and gas works at nearby Hanover Quay.[9] By the 20th century, Sir John Rogerson's Quay was home to a number of shipbuilding and shipping companies,[10] as well as several storehouse types, including cold stores[11] and 'campshire' sheds.[12] At the beginning of the "Lotus-Eaters" episode of James Joyce's Ulysses, set in 1904, Leopold Bloom, one of the novel's protagonists, walks along Rogerson's Quay. Joyce describes it at the time as busy with lorry traffic and notes some of the businesses along it—a linseed crusher, the postal telegraph office, and a sailor's home.[13]

Modern-day

edit

As of the early 21st century, the previously functional maritime buildings and features of Sir John Rogerson's Quay have been redeveloped for heritage tourism, and newer office buildings have been built on the quay.[14][15] This has included redevelopment of the quay's 'campshire' warehouses (associated with the historical use of the quay as a military 'camp'),[16][17][12] and the renovation of a mid-19th century diving bell made by Grendons of Drogheda.[18][19][20] The diving bell has been a feature of the quays since the 1870s, and was used to build and maintain many of the walls of Dublin's quays.[21]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Getting ready to dock around the clock". The Irish Times. 15 August 1998. Retrieved 30 January 2017. on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin [..] the two buildings occupied by the Ferryman date from 1790
  2. ^ "Cé Sir John Rogerson". logainm.ie.
  3. ^ a b c "Sir John Rogerson". Dublin Docklands – An Urban Voyage. Turtlebunbury.com. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Sir John Rogerson's Quay 1756 (DCR006)". Collections – Dublin: The City and the River. Dublin City Council. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin – Vol VII". Dublin Assembly Roll 1716. 1898. the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, commons and citizens of the city of Dublin [...] have made a lease to sir John Rogerson of a piece of ground on the south side of the channel, which sir John Rogerson was obliged to inclose
  6. ^ John W. De Courcy (1996). The Liffey in Dublin. Gill & Macmillan. p. 333. ISBN 0717124231. the project was the largest and possibly most significant privately funded development project in the history of the Liffey
  7. ^ An Exact Survey of the City and Suburbs of Dublin (by John Rocque) (Map). Bibliothèque nationale de France. 1756. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. ^ An Englishman's Descriptive Account of Dublin. Cadell and Davies. 1810. p. 95. [.. On the Liffey's south bank ..] is a long range of quays [.. including ..] Sir John Rogerson's Quay, where the White-haven vessels are principally moored. The coals imported to Dublin from Whitehaven are not consigned
  9. ^ "The Docklands – Hanover Quay Gasworks". Dublin Docklands – An Urban Voyage. Turtlebunbury.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Rated Occupiers - Register - South Dock Ward - Page 10 - Sir John Rogerson's Quay". 1908 to 1915 Electoral Rolls. Dublin City Council. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Cold Store (POD033)". Digital Collections – The Port of Dublin. Dublin City Council. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Brick sheds, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2". Built Dublin. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  13. ^ Joyce, James (1922). Ulysses. Lerner. p. 79. ISBN 9781512402292. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  14. ^ "New '1SJRQ' building on Sir John Rogerson's Quay available". The Irish Times. 20 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Sold for €52m: Another Dublin Docklands building has a new owner". The Journal. 30 June 2014.
  16. ^ "The campshires". The Reconstruction of Dublin. Reflecting City. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  17. ^ "Denis O'Brien buys docklands campshire buildings for €1m". The Irish Times. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Know what this strange 19th century contraption is? It's getting a 2015 facelift". The Journal. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Sightseeing – Diving Bell". Dublin Docklands Development Authority. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  20. ^ "140-year-old Diving Bell to be reborn as tourist attraction". Irish Independent. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Dublin Diving Bell to link city's maritime past and present". Engineers Journal. Engineers Ireland. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
edit

  Media related to Sir John Rogerson's Quay at Wikimedia Commons