Henrietta Crofts Archives - NORTH OF THE RIVER

TO THE SIDE OF AND BEHIND 4 AND 3 HENRIETTA STREET

I photographed this laneway because a very large of road engineers have been on site for almost a week and they had lots of heavy plant and road surfacing equipment.

Until recently it was a little used [except by a few horse owners] laneway off Henrietta Street and it is named Henrietta Lane. It is of interest because became an entrance to a new 380 bed Student Accommodation Complex on Upper Dominick Street which replaced the Michael H textile factory. The complex owned by UK student accommodation provider Ziggurat is now fully operational. I would describe it as being off Henrietta street and it is L-shaped with a section running parallel to Upper Dominick Street. I have noted that a number of old warehouses and unused plots on the lane are now on the market.

I came across the following, somewhat dated, description: No. 4 and the adjoining site were leased by Nathaniel Clements in 1747 to John Maxwell until his daughter married Owen Wynne of Hazelwood, Co. Sligo, who subsequently built this house. Recently stabilised by Dublin City Council the house is in the early phase of a comprehensive programme of conservation works. The interior retains some good plasterwork including an unusually deep coved plaster ceiling to the rear bowed room. The original open-well staircase was removed c.1830 with the secondary staircase retained along with much original joinery and forms part of what has been described as ‘Dublin’s Street of Palaces’ while the ongoing conservation work will no doubt contribute to the improving fortunes of this remarkable streetscape. Laid out by Luke Gardiner in the 1720s, Henrietta Street is a short cul-de-sac containing the finest early Georgian houses in the city and was named after Henrietta Crofts, the third wife of Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton and Lord Lieutenant in 1717-21. The street developed in a piecemeal fashion and set the trends of scale and design in domestic architecture.

Restoration of no 3 began in 2016 and took over 2 years to restore to its former glory. It now operates as an upmarket hotel under the name Henrietta Suites.