Newtown Pery, Limerick

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Georgian streetscape on the Crescent, Newtown Pery

Newtown Pery (

CBD) of the city. The district is known for its Georgian architectural heritage and is the core area of Limerick's Georgian Quarter. It is one of the three towns that make up modern-day Limerick City Centre, the other two being the older Englishtown and Irishtown, which date from the medieval period. Newtown Pery houses the largest collection of Georgian townhouses in Ireland outside of Dublin. In 1837, Samuel Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described Newtown Pery as "one of the handsomest towns in Ireland".[1]

History

Limerick - O'Connell Street looking north east. The majority of this section of Newtown Pery was rebuilt in the mid to late 20th Century

Prior to the development of Newtown Pery, the historical City of Limerick was situated just north of the present day city centre, stretching from

Edmund Sexton Pery was a descendant and on whom much of Georgian Limerick is credited.[2][4]

Following the turbulent years of the 17th century, Limerick began to prosper in the 18th century and was completely transformed into the city it is today.

canals enabled Limerick to become the main port city on the western side of Ireland, which in turn brought much prosperity to the city and to its merchants and landowners with trade between Britain and America.[5]

The boundaries of the city of Limerick, where the

Crescent area and Pery Square.[2] The Custom's House (Hunt Museum), designed by Italian architect Davis Ducart
, is also one of the city's finest examples of Georgian Architecture.

By the turn of the 19th century, Newtown Pery was rapidly growing as most fashionable area of the city. In 1807 its leading residents secured a

Sarsfield Bridge.[10]

Details

Tait Memorial Clock Tower and Dominican Church, Baker Place

From its development Newtown Pery has served as Limerick's

CBD. It is also the city's main retail district which is centered on O'Connell Street, William Street and the adjoining streets. In addition to the quality of the Georgian heritage in the district, another striking feature of the development is the grid plan layout of the streets in the area running north–south and east–west in similar fashion and design as found in New York City, Philadelphia, Glasgow, Bristol and Berlin albeit on a smaller scale.[6]
This distinguishes Limerick's Georgian stock to the other major Irish Georgian development in Dublin, as Limerick's terraces are more uniform. This is due to the fact that the Pery owned all the land that was developed and it enabled a single development plan.

Limerick continued to expand following the

Great Irish Famine put an end to the development. The terrace at Pery Square was the last development of the great Georgian expansion of Limerick. The terrace itself was intended to be part of a Georgian square enclosing the People's Park, similar to Fitzwilliam Square or Mountjoy Square in Dublin; however, the plans were never realised as the development coincided with the beginning of the Famine. Another distinguishing feature of Georgian Limerick to Georgian Dublin is that Newtown Pery was a completely new "greenfield" development. Limerick's medieval city was left completely intact and remains to this day. But most of the built infrastructure of medieval Limerick did not survive past the mid-20th century following the clearance of slum living in the city. Some examples survive, and the street outlines remain in Nicholas Street, Mary Street, Broad Street, John Street and Mungret Street. Much of Georgian Dublin, in contrast, was undertaken by the Wide Streets Commission
, which almost completely rebuilt Dublin over the older medieval city.

Decline

O'Connell Street in the early 20th century featuring the imposing facade of Cannock's Department Store and its landmark clocktower. It was rebuilt in the early 1960s, losing its Georgian character

Although housing an important collection of Georgian architecture and acting as Limerick's city centre, unfortunately Newtown Pery's position as the one time fashionable area of the city is long over. In addition to this, its Georgian heritage has been severely compromised, in particular around the retail core of

modernist, cheaper (and perhaps less attractive) 1960s-style architecture. The loss of Todd's Department Store to a fire which gutted the building, the rebuilding of Cannock's Department Store, Royal George Hotel, AIB Bank amongst many more, completely altered the look of city and ultimately resulted in a loss of the districts heritage and character. Nevertheless, much of the districts Georgian townhouses remained intact, however many were converted to offices or flats, while others remained unoccupied or neglected. However, despite the architectural losses and economic conditions, Newtown Pery remained the premier retail and services district for Limerick and the greater Mid-West Region
well up into the late 20th and early 21st century.

Economic stagnation in Limerick was only broken by the Celtic Tiger in the late 20th century. But Newtown Pery still lagged behind with regards to investment and planning, with exception to the riverfront of the Shannon. Suburban areas of Limerick have seen massive investments, particularly in retail, which has seen the onetime retail core of O' Connell Street and William street been eclipsed by massive retail developments in the suburbs such as the Crescent Shopping Centre in Dooradoyle. Poor planning and lack of investment has resulted in high vacancy rates and further dereliction, which plagues some parts. Amongst the casualties of this poor planning has been the Patrick Street, Rutland Street and Ellen Street areas.[citation needed] These streets are now almost completely derelict and vacant. Urban depression in Limerick is not confined to these areas, and much of central Limerick is now exhibiting the effects, mainly of heavy suburbanisation but also the effects of economic recession.[original research?]

Future

In order to arrest the decline of Limerick's CBD and Newtown Pery in general, both

Georgian Era
. It remains to be seen if the above schemes can stop the decline of the city's historic & elegant stock of buildings.

Landmarks

People's Park (Limerick)
People's Park

The following are a list of notable buildings and landmarks in the area:

  • Customs House, (Hunt Museum) Rutland Street
  • Old City Hall, Rutland Street
  • Augustinian Church, O'Connell Street
  • Franciscan Church, Henry Street (closed)
  • The Crescent, Double Crescent shaped Georgian Development
  • Sacred Heart Church, The Crescent
  • O'Connell Monument, The Crescent
  • Dominican Church, Glentworth Street
  • Tait Monument, Baker Place
  • Spring Rice Memorial,
    People's Park
  • Pery Square tontine development, Pery Square
  • The People's Museum of Limerick, Pery Square
  • Limerick City Gallery of Art, Pery Square
  • Limerick Athenaeum (Theatre Royal), Cecil Street (closed)
  • Belltable Arts Centre
    , O'Connell Street (Currently closed)
  • Limerick War Memorial (Cenotaph), Pery Square
  • Colbert Station
    , Parnell Street
  • Frank McCourt Museum & Leamy Art Gallery, Hartstonge Street
  • Georgian House & Garden, Pery Square
  • St. Michael's Church of Ireland, Pery Square
  • St. Joseph's Church, Quinlan Street
  • Sarsfield Bridge
  • Shannon Rowing Club, Clubhouse, Sarsfield Bridge
  • Riverpoint, Bishop's Quay
  • Clarion Hotel
    , Steamboat Quay

See also

Further reading

  • Willie Cumming, Mildred Dunne and Barry O'Reilly (Editors), An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of Limerick City. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (N.I.A.H.),
    ISBN 9780-7557-74418
    .

References

  1. ^ a b "Limerick City Topography - Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)". www.libraryireland.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e O'Flaherty, Eamon. "Three towns: Limerick since 1691" (PDF) – via Limerick City Council.
  3. ^ https://www.nli.ie/sites/default/files/2022-12/121_limerick.pdf
  4. ^ "Pery". 21 June 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Limerick Georgian Quarter History ' GeorgianQuarter ' Guide". Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Planning Dispatch by Garry Miley - Irish Planning Analysed, Planning Ireland - The Conservation of Georgian Limerick 1". www.garrymiley.com.
  7. ^ a b "Commissioners for the Improvement of St. Michael's Parish, 1810-1851". Archives. Limerick City and County Council. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Lovett, Phil. "The Wellesley Bridge" (PDF). The Old Limerick Journal (9): 28–31.
  9. ^ Ó Maidín, Pádraig. "The Building of the Sarsfield Bridge" (PDF). Old Limerick Journal (6): 5–6.
  10. ^ https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/21512010/sarsfield-bridge-sarsfield-street-ennis-road-limerick-municipal-borough-limerick-limerick
  11. ^ a b "Limerick City Council".
  12. ^ "What's New - Limerick.ie, The official guide to Limerick, Ireland". Archived from the original on 17 March 2013.

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