employees of the railway

PHIBSBOROUGH 4 JANUARY 2024

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It is a while since I last visited this area.

The Great Western Square area is located just south of St. Peter’s Church and school on the North Circular Road. It is bounded by Great Western Avenue to the north, Broadstone Bus depot to the south, the railway line to the west and Avondale Road to the east. The area includes Great Western Square and Great Western Villas.

Phibsborough developed from the second half of the 18th century on the main road north to Finglas and Glasnevin. The name derives from a Mr. Edward Phipps who bought property in the area during this period. The urban core of Phibsborough dates largely from this time with some early buildings surviving at Monck Place.

Developments such as the layout of North Circular Road and the Royal Canal in the late 18th century followed by the Midlands and Great Western Railway in the 1840’s accelerated development the 1840’s. The overall character of Phibsborough is defined by large areas of residential development mainly Victorian in date but also includes Georgian, Edwardian and modern buildings.

A number of houses from the first half of the 19th century survive, generally built of yellow-brown brick with parapet fronts and steps up to the ground floors. The consolidated development in the latter half of the 19th century left a fine stock of red-brick terraces associated with the Victorian period.

Great Western Square consists of three red-brick terraces of uniform design arranged around a green. Great Western Villas runs parallel to the southern side of Great Western Square. The houses were built in 1884 adjacent to the Broadstone Railway Line for the employees of the railway.

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