APRIL 2022
The main item of interest along dock road is the Bannatyne Mill building which is described as follows: A most imposing and rare industrial building with a larger than life expression of Victorian industrial architecture, erected to the designs of William Sidney Cox. The builders were McCarthy and Guerin. It was built for Mssrs. Bannatyne. The Bannatyne Mill is technically significant as the building’s frame is made of cast-iron and is encased in cut stone and rubble. There are allocations for lift machinery in the basement and the hoisting machinery is hidden behind the gables. The tower, influenced by the Gothic of northern continental Europe, adds architectural presence over the Docks and is a landmark sight from the northern banks of the River Shannon. The high degree of detailing and the attention paid to the architectural composition of this structure is extraordinary when viewed through the rationalised approach to aesthetics today. This structure, together with the later reinforced concrete silo further east are significant industrial architectural landmarks in the Dock Road area of Limerick City.
There is also a the graving dock to which I had no access. It is described as a well-built dock set within the greater wet dock, and displaying fine stone masonry typical of the mid nineteenth century. Mr. Hawney was the clerk of works. Although now falling into dereliction, this dock along with the pedstal, forms an historical feature on the landscape of the docklands.
