KILKENNY

WAS A MAJOR EUROPEAN BREWING CENTRE

Ireland

THE TEA HOUSES AT BATEMAN QUAY IN KILKENNY

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ALSO THE TREE OF HEAVEN

There were two buildings on the banks of the river Nore and they were collectively known as The Tea Houses and as part of the ongoing development of the Abbey Quarter site, Kilkenny County Council recently completed the refurbishment of the Tea Houses on Bateman Quay. The buildings are located at the entrance to the new Riverside Garden and Skatepark amenity area which was officially opened in the summer of 2021. The Tea Houses are also strategically located adjacent to the bus stops for the City Bus Service and the Market Yard car park.

The Houses, dated 19th Century, and were known as “Pleasure Houses” have a history of operating a coffee/café type service as historically they were used by the gentry to take their afternoon tea on the banks of the River.

There is also a memorial tree here the “Tree Of Heaven” erected by the Bereaved Parents Support Group Kilkenny

There is now a pedestrian bridge connecting John’s Quay to Bateman Quay which is home to a courthouse and the new Thomas Woodgate Memorial.

On the former Smithwick’s Brewery and Bateman Quay sites, historical maps reveal that the area was subdivided into long plots of ground with one end on the main street known as burgage plots. These burgage plots were first established by William Marshall in 1207. A ‘burgess’ rented a burgage plot for a shilling a year and built a house on the street. Behind the house stretched a long narrow garden for growing fruit and vegetables. The burgesses built sheds in these gardens and in some instances, a dovecote, which ensured a supply of fresh meat for the family all year around.

MICHAEL STREET IN THE CITY OF KILKENNY AUGUST 2018

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PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED 15 JANUARY 2024

This quiet street is just off John Street close to the new McDonagh Junction Shopping Centre in Kilkenny City.

From the year 1300 to the Reformation the civil parish of St. John the Evangelist comprised the parishes of St. John’s, Fennel and Kilmalogga according to Carrigan. St. John’s Priory, an Augustinian foundation, 1325, later known as St. John’s Abbey has a beautiful slender-mullioned east window and original side walls. Saint Michael’s Gate was an approach into the priory, hence the name Michael Street adjoining. The old infantry barracks, now Evan’s Asylum, was part of the abbey.

I was unable to visit Kilkenny in 2019 or 2020 because of travel restrictions and in 2023 I could not find suitable hotel accommodation however I hope to visit at the end of March 2024 but because it is inclined to rain a lot in Kilkenny in March and April it might be an ideal time to photograph the city but it is the only option available at the moment.

KILKENNY CASTLE ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER NORE

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LATE EVENING IN AUGUST 2018

Kilkenny Castle is a magnificent medieval castle located on the River Nore in Kilkenny, Ireland. It was built in 1260 by William Marshall, the 4th Earl of Pembroke, to control a strategic fording point of the river. The castle has been extensively remodeled over the centuries, and it now features a mix of architectural styles, including Norman, Gothic, and Victorian.

Kilkenny Castle is open to the public and offers guided tours of the interior, which includes beautifully restored rooms, a grand staircase, and a collection of historical artifacts. The castle grounds also include a formal garden, a lake, and a playground.

THIS IS GREEN’S BRIDGE OR GREENSBRIDGE

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I ACCIDENTALLY IDENTIFIED IT AS JOHN’S BRIDGE BECAUSE OF A GHOST STORY

TWO BRIDGES AND AN OLD LOCAL GHOST STORY

To be honest I did not get the opportunity to explore the immediate area in detail during my visit to Kilkenny in August 2018 but I hope to do so in 2024 when I visit in March.

A bridge ‘designed for the Joint Committee of the Kilkenny County Council and the Kilkenny Borough Council by Mr. A.M. Burden [Alexander Burden Mitchell (1864-1923)] County Surveyor of Kilkenny’ (Concrete and Constructional Engineering VI 1911, 223) representing an important component of the early twentieth-century built heritage of County Kilkenny with the architectural value of the composition confirmed not only by the pioneering construction using the Hennebique ferro-concrete [reinforced concrete] system engineered to designs signed (11th June 1907) by Louis Gustave Mouchel (1852-1908) of London, but also by the elegant “sweep” of the arch making a pleasing visual statement at a crossing over the River Nore.

THIS CANAL WALK WAS IMPROVED IN 1861

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MAYOR THOMAS POWER PROVIDED MUCH OF THE FINANCE

Unfortunately the canal on the River Nore was never finished. The start of the canal is marked on Rocque’s map of Kilkenny, published in 1758. The whole project was abandoned in 1761 and no barges ever made the journey from Inistioge. The land used to construct the canal was eventually turned into a public walk and park for the citizens of Kilkenny.

Edmond Smithwick marked his year as Mayor (1844) by providing at his own cost, a decorative iron gateway and palisading at the city entrance to the walk. The gates no longer exist, but substantial cast-iron plaques recording the gift, which adorned the gate piers, are now preserved in Rothe House.

The next Mayor, Doctor Robert Cane, paid for the erection of the Lodge House which still exists. It was both decorative and functional, being the residence of a council employee who would look after the Walk and patrol it as necessary. The attractive cottage no longer residential. On the front of the lodge facing Canal Square is a plaque which reads as follows: “This slab is inscribed by Alderman O’Donnell, Mayor 1885, to the memory of Alderman Robert Cane who during his second year of Mayoralty in 1849 devoted his salary to the erection of this lodge”.

There is another plaque built into the Castle wall. It commemorates improvements effected in 1861 during the Mayoralty of Thomas Power, whose extensive establishment in High Street was the City’s leading ironmonger’s.
As well as providing a pleasant promenade close to the city, the Walk was a venue for entertainment provided by local bands, and particularly those of Regiments stationed in the city at different times. The base of a bandstand, can be seen beyond the new car park at the foot of the lane between Dukes Meadows and the Castle grounds.

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