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Georgian Dublin
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Georgian Dublin
In 1756 the first accurate map of the city was made by John Roque, who reckoned he had delineated three hundred and thirty eight streets, lanes, rows, and buildings. Rutland Square had been laid out in 1751 although the great squares Merrion, Fitzwilliam and Mountjoy were not yet in existence.
Merrion Square was laid down in 1762 and after its completion according to Samuel Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published in 1837, the south-east area of the city, with Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square, fostered ‘the nobility , the gentry and members of the liberal professions”.
The houses that bound the squares on four sides are elegant Georgian terraces built in brick and usually comprising three stories over basement they are a joy to the eye.
Most of what were the town residences of the gentry are approached from street level by a series of granite steps and many still have the cast-iron foot scrapers on either side of the door, reminders of a past time.
Very few of the houses today are residences. They are now occupied by the offices of firms of solicitors, accountants, and many of the other professions.
During the 1960’s a large portion of lower Fitzwilliam street one side of Fitzwilliam square was demolished to create a site for the State Electricity Board (ESB) The demolished Georgian buildings were replaced by the ugly brown and glass steel building we see today. Thankfully the authorities after much public protest didn’t allow any further demolition of the beautiful Georgian streetscape.