What are the metal plates along N Gt Georges St

Davidth88

Guys

I have had cause to walk up / down this street many times recently , I love the houses along there , although the HSE building rather spoils it.

But what are the metal plates in the pavement

http://maps.google.ie/?ll=53.355015,-6.261453&spn=0.001334,0.002411&t=m&z=19&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=53.355015,-6.261453&panoid=PPhe5IpdLsE-VUuWo5krJg&cbp=12,71.8,,1,6.39

They are not man hole covers ( they seem totally imovable ) , and they are not drains ......... just curious .

delta_bravo

Not sure of their official name but they were used to put coal in the basement of houses without dragging it through the house. You see them in most georgian areas. Quite clever.

Davidth88

that makes sense ... coal chutes !! of course , so those places must have quite big cellars

Thanks

tricky D

delta_bravo wrote: »

Not sure of their official name but they were used to put coal in the basement of houses without dragging it through the house. You see them in most georgian areas. Quite clever.

This^^

Many of these period houses had coal bunkers under the path. Plenty of them are still intact if you take a look sometime.

starviewadams

Walk up and down that street everyday and never knew that's what they were for.

Would love to actually have a look at the inside of one now!

Wishbone Ash

In many of those period houses the cellars/stores extended way out under the street. Much evidence of this is still visible especially in places such as Henrietta Street.

dubtom

I heard mentioned,probably here,that when the Luas lines were being laid on Harcourt street a few of the old cellars were damaged,they must be big indeed.

tricky D

Generally the coal sheds extended out front towards the edge of the road. Some cellars would have too, but many were out the back of the house if there was space there. Bear in mind there were no such fancy things as fridges when many of these houses were built, so underground cellars were the best available solution for keeping things cooled.

mikemac1

Isn't there an issue on Henrietta Street that the street cannot cope with heavy vehicles so much of it is no parking

Otherwise we could have a van falling through the street into a cellar :eek:

Dancor

mikemac1 wrote: »

Isn't there an issue on Henrietta Street that the street cannot cope with heavy vehicles so much of it is no parking

Otherwise we could have a van falling through the street into a cellar :eek:

Yup. Thats why they have the bollards on the street to stop parking.

http://g.co/maps/zaks8

dubbie82

One of the older residents on Gardiner Place told me that his grandfather told him about tunnel underneath the streets where you could get from one side to the house opposite without actually going out but he somewhat doubted that story.

Another bit he told me is that the houses on Gardiner Place from the corner of Mountjoy square to the next street corner were connected by doorways on the first floor and I did indeed see a closed off doorway in some of the houses which would have led from one stairway throught the next house. Again I am not sure if they were part of the original plans or a later addition by the owner or a more convenient way when the houses turned into a tenement.

mikemac1

The tunnel sounds pretty reasonable and believable
Could well be true

tricky D

dubbie82 wrote: »

Another bit he told me is that the houses on Gardiner Place from the corner of Mountjoy square to the next street corner were connected by doorways on the first floor and I did indeed see a closed off doorway in some of the houses which would have led from one stairway throught the next house. Again I am not sure if they were part of the original plans or a later addition by the owner or a more convenient way when the houses turned into a tenement.

This sounds as if Gardiner Pl is being confused with houses 1 to 8 on Mountjoy Sq, which were all joined together such that you could walk half the length of the square within them.

Never heard anything about tunnels as you describe them, having lived there for 5 years and having spoken to Uinseann McEoin who was an architect who owned a few houses and possibly was the guy who knew most about the area.

JuliusCaesar

Hume St has bunkers which extend under the footpath; presumably this is where they stored their coal. If you're ever in a basement area in Hume St, then have a look.

Victor

dubbie82 wrote: »

One of the older residents on Gardiner Place told me that his grandfather told him about tunnel underneath the streets where you could get from one side to the house opposite without actually going out but he somewhat doubted that story.

Very few tunnels across streets. Quite often, peoples' idea of a tunnel and the reality is quite different. They see a door leading under the footpath on one side of the street and another on the far side of the street and assume the two are joined up. Most basements would stop at the kerb line.

Some actual historical tunnels / subways.

http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,714565,735110,7,9 (stills exists)
http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,717338,734465,7,9 (status unknown)
http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,714125,733954,7,9 (stills exists)

Another bit he told me is that the houses on Gardiner Place from the corner of Mountjoy square to the next street corner were connected by doorways on the first floor and I did indeed see a closed off doorway in some of the houses which would have led from one stairway throught the next house. Again I am not sure if they were part of the original plans or a later addition by the owner or a more convenient way when the houses turned into a tenement.

I can imagine lots of properties being interconnected for various reasons.

mikemac1

What's the middle one Victor?

Is there or was there an old tunnel from North Wall across the Liffey to Sir John Rodgerson Quay?

I've never heard about this, very interesting

Ste.phen

mikemac1 wrote: »

What's the middle one Victor?

Is there or was there an old tunnel from North Wall across the Liffey to Sir John Rodgerson Quay?

I've never heard about this, very interesting

There's a NEW tunnel there (well, North Wall Quay to York Road), completed fairly recently, the construction site for which is visible in this Street View pic:

http://url.ie/dzfa - goes from the green hoarding on the north side to the green hoarding on the south side

Not sure what it's for, would guess gas, electricity, etc

Victor

mikemac1 wrote: »

What's the middle one Victor?

So that goods could be moved from the quayside (campshire) stores to the warehouses without crossing the road - and incurring 'losses'. Most important with alcohol, tobacco and the like.

Is there or was there an old tunnel from North Wall across the Liffey to Sir John Rodgerson Quay?

There is a 1940s era utility tunnel.

Ste.phen wrote: »

There's a NEW tunnel there (well, North Wall Quay to York Road), completed fairly recently, the construction site for which is visible in this Street View pic:

http://url.ie/dzfa - goes from the green hoarding on the north side to the green hoarding on the south side

Not sure what it's for, would guess gas, electricity, etc

Yes, its a utility tunnel.

latenia

A couple of pics of mine:





It extends about 12 feet from where the pavement meets the railings so goes underneath the road for a few feet. You can see the coal hole in the 2nd pic.