Populating the past, getting to know the neighbours....who lived on James Street?

At the core of this project are the people: the owners, businessmen and women, the traders, the lodgers, the children...all of whom have made up the community of James Street since the late 18th century.

In order to find these people and trace their origins, inward and outward movements to and from the street, and to track their fortunes, we must firstly look to the historical documents. Much of these have been digitised and available online. Patience, and much time, will yield the researcher the reward of a snippit of historical information. All of these snippets merge to forma the bog picture of life on this street, indeed in this city, during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Below is a collation of references within historical documents...with noted continuation highlighted in coloured format. The documents used include:

1787 - Lucas' Cork Directory link
1809-10 - West's Cork Directory link
1824 - Pigot & Co's Munster Directory link
1844-45 - Aldwell's County and City of Cork P.O. General Directory link
1853 - Griffith's Valuation link
1863 - Laing's Cork Merchantile Directory link
1871 - Fulton's City of Cork (& Queenstown) Directory link
1875-76 - Guy's County and City Directory link
1901 - Census of Ireland  link
1911 - Census of Ireland link
1913 - Guy's County and City Almanac and Directory link

This collection represents the raw civil data for the street, and provides a research framework to build on. Further information is to be gathered from religious and other sources, in order to enrich the picture, and a 'zooming in' of several interesting findings will be detailed in forthcoming blog posts. In the meantime, here is the current progression chart.

 


Link to progression sheet as a .pdf file

Mapping the street

Before we delve into the occupants, tenants, businesses and activities which have shaped James Street since its inception, it is worthwhile considering the street as a geographic, cartographic entity. The first representation of the street is much different than what we see today, or even by the 1840s. Beaufort's 1801 map of Cork records James Street only three decades after its establishment. Prior to the laying-out of Washington Street (then Great George's Street), and the establishment of the courthouse nearby, Anne Street and the then-named Coburn Lane (now Courthouse Street) extended south as far as Hanover Street, and indeed this block of streets and lanes looked much different.

Beaufort's 1801 map of Cork (c) Cork Past and Present/City Library

James Street is but a small piece of the Cork urban jigsaw, a side-note in the annals of Cork city. This is reflected in its rudimentary entry in the 6" Ordnance Survey map of the 1840s, where the shaded block denotes occupied buildings for James Street , some of Courthouse Street, Anne Street and Nile Street:

6" O.S. Map (c) O.S.I.

Around ten years later, the Griffiths Valuation, a land survey conducted throughout the country, included James Street in its maps. Here we see a somewhat changed urban landscape: the plots between James Street and Washington Street (then Great George's Street) have extended, narrowing the Anne Street junction and regularising the main thoroughfare. The top numbers in each plot denote the number which corresponds with the valuation, and the bottom numbers denote the actual house/premises number, i.e. the street numbers for James Street begin at its north-east corner, at the junction with Courthouse Street.

Griffiths Valuation map (c) AskaboutIreland

The 25" Ordnance Survey map of the late 19th century shows James Street retained much the same layout since the Griffiths Valuation map, the only tangible difference being the addition of pavements in the surrounding streets, likely a result of the increasing market trade and subsequent growth in traffic from incoming carts and horses. This led to the need to separate pedestrians and keep them safe from collision.

25" O.S. Map (c) O.S.I.

...and to the present day. Below is a modern street map of the area, with James Street denoted simply by the term 'street'...clearly an error, that unfortunately makes the street appear to be a part of Gravel Lane. When compared directly to the 25" map above, little change can be observed, except some alterations of inner yards.

Modern street map (beta) (c) O.S.I.

Previous maps, with the area in which James Street is located marked as 'Fenns Marsh', as well as other maps related to Cork City can be viewed at Cork Past and Present.

Historical O.S.I. maps can be viewed at www.osi.ie.

Why James Street?

A stroll through this small street, located in Cork City's Marsh area, may not immediately inspire you to imagine this place as a well of historical information on life in Cork since the late 18th century. Nowadays, this narrow street serves as home to a number of individuals, and as an access area for much of the retail units which front onto Washington Street, which runs parallel, to the immediate south.

However, scratch the surface of this city thoroughfare, and there is a wealth of information regarding the local history and heritage of the area. The most obvious evidence for this is probably the date plaque (above), located at the south-east corner of the street, at the Courthouse end. This stone plaque indicates a date for the establishment of the street as being 1767, a time which correlates with a general period of improvement and street creation in Cork (more info).

Restored stone facing

   

Apart from this date plaque, a number of interesting features of the buildings and street found at James Street can reveal a number of trends in local and regional architecture from the 18th century to the present day.

These features include original and renovated stone walling and brickwork, individual quirks of design and engineering.

Original stone facing, with ornamental brickwork

A particularly interesting entrance way at no.6, with ornamental iron-work.

A mixture of old and new - restored stonework and more modern concrete facing.

A recessed ornamental house number tile

Decorative wrought iron work

An example of 19th century roofing - with a curved top line

19th or 20th century brickwork evident underneath the modern pavement - likely as part of a street drain