History of Limerick - Georgian Limerick and Newtown Pery

Georgian Limerick and Newtown Pery

While in 1695 the repressive penal laws were introduced that banned Catholics from public office, buying freehold land, voting or practicing their religion in public, Limerick's position as the main port on the western side of Ireland meant that the city, and the Protestant upper class, began to prosper. The British version of mercantilism required a great deal of trans-Atlantic trade, and Limerick profited somewhat by this. Many significant public buildings and infrastructure projects were paid for with local trade taxes. The first infirmary was founded by the surgeon Sylvester O'Halloran in 1761. The House of Industry was built on northern bank of the river in 1774, in part as a poorhouse and infirmary. The late 17th and early 18th century saw a rapid expansion of the city as Limerick took on the appearance of a Georgian City. It was during this time that the city centre took on its present day look with the planned terraced Georgian Townhouses a characteristic of the city today. Georgian Limerick dates from this period as part of Edmund Sexton Pery's plan for the development of a new city on lands he owned to the south of the existing medieval city. In 1765, he commissioned the Italian engineer Davis Ducart to design a town plan on those lands which have since become known as Newtown Pery. The town was built in stages as Pery sold off leases to builders and developers who built 4 and 5 story townhouses in the Georgian fashion with long wide and elegant streets in grid plan design with O'Connell Street (previously Georges street) being laid out at this time also and forming the centre of the new town. The earliest Georgian houses are located in John's Square in the Irishtown district of medieval Limerick and along Bank Place, Rutland Street & Patrick Street in the Newtown Pery district which were built by the Arthur family - a prominent Limerick family during the 18th century. Some of Ireland's finest examples of Georgian Architecture can be seen at the Crescent area and Pery Square. A basic sewer system was built in Newtownpery in the reign of George III by simply closing over the gutters. By the time of George's reign, Limerick had 17 gates in the city walls, most of whose names continue in modern city placenames. St. Joseph's Psychiatric Hospital was completed in the south-side by 1826. Wellesley Bridge (later, Sarsfield Bridge) and new wet docks were also built during this time. Chief imports through the port included timber, coal, iron and tar. Exports included beef, pork, wheat, oats, flour and emigrants bound for North America. Exports of food continued during the Great Famine, often requiring the deployment of troops to protect the port.

The new, broad wide and elegant streets of Newtown Pery quickly attracted the city's wealthiest families who left the old overcrowded narrow lanes and streets of medieval Limerick (Englishtown & Irishtown) and marked the decline of the ancient and medieval quarter of Limerick. These parts of the city were left to the poorer citizens of Limerick and became characterised by poverty and squalor. Unfortunately some tangible links to Limerick's eventful past were lost as historically important buildings were lost due to lack of maintenance such as the Exchange, Ireton's Castle (from the siege of Limerick), and a collection of Flemish and Dutch styled housing that started after the Glorious Revolution (with some surviving up to the mid 20th Century) that fronted onto Nicholas Street, Mary Street, Broad Street & Mungret Street that were eventually knocked due to poor condition.