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