Why is Miller's (Millers) Lane called that?

bobbyss

Why is it called Miller's Lane? Or is it Millars Lane?

D Trent

bobbyss wrote: »

Why is it called Miller's Lane? Or is it Millars Lane?

Two threads started on millar's lane in one day
Wow

folbotcar

Well given the propensity for Galway streets to be named for the activities that go on there: Shop St, Quay St, Merchants Rd, College Rd. Then possibly it's because that's where all the Millers who worked in the Mill on Mill St lived. Failing that maybe farmer Miller who obviously grew wheat for the flour Mill on Mill St, farmed there and that's his lane.

Obvious really!

bobbyss

folbotcar wrote: »

Well given the propensity for Galway streets to be named for the activities that go on there: Shop St, Quay St, Merchants Rd, College Rd. Then possibly it's because that's where all the Millers who worked in the Mill on Mill St lived. Failing that maybe farmer Miller who obviously grew wheat for the flour Mill on Mill St, farmed there and that's his lane.

Obvious really!

I was actually wondering if anyone knew.

The 'possibly' and the 'maybe' obviously means you don't.

Gremlinertia

Research required here.. I thought (I may indeed be mistaken) that it was millar's lane, which would be a surname. Local historian time..

bobbyss

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Research required here.. I thought (I may indeed be mistaken) that it was millar's lane, which would be a surname. Local historian time..

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I am unsure about its spelling too and thus my original message included both spellings.

stampydmonkey

bobbyss wrote: »

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I am unsure about its spelling too and thus my original message included both spellings.

You could look at the old maps on myplan.ie. might shed some light as to what was there through the years

Eeden

There's an old thread about various Galway road/place names here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056496962

I haven't read it all, so I'm not sure if Miller's Lane (sp?) is mentioned, but you might be interested in looking at it.

dilallio

According to Ordinance Survey Ireland it's Miller's Lane. They have an overlay where you can see if historically there were mills there. There were none mentioned on the OSI map.

D Trent

bobbyss wrote: »

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I am unsure about its spelling too and thus my original message included both spellings.

You might have spotted it but thread title has 'Millers' x 2

folbotcar

bobbyss wrote: »

I was actually wondering if anyone knew.

The 'possibly' and the 'maybe' obviously means you don't.

You're rather serious aren't you? But again is that most likely reason is that it's farm lane and it led to Mr Miller's farm. Who he was is most likely lost in the mists of time.

bobbyss

D Trent wrote: »

You might have spotted it but thread title has 'Millers' x 2

Thanks for response.

Yes I already spotted that. Actually Miller's and Millers.

Miller's suggests the lane of Mr Miller or Ms Miller.

I don't think Millers Lane is grammatically correct.

D Trent

bobbyss wrote: »

Thanks for response.

Yes I already spotted that. Actually Miller's and Millers.

Miller's suggests the lane of Mr Miller or Ms Miller.

I don't think Millers Lane is grammatically correct.

Except it's Millar's Lane

bobbyss

D Trent wrote: »

Except it's Millar's Lane

Is it written down somewhere as Millar's Lane?

2rkehij30qtza5

I was told by someone who is very knowledgeable on the history of the area that it was because the people whose land was there years and years ago were called Millers.

Andrea B.

So, the 1901 and 1911 census do not show Miller or Millar.
However, as per ovelay Ordinance Survey map below, you will see a stream "Rahoon Stream" underlined in yellow which ran withy lane.
Maybe the stream had a mill of some sort on it?

Squeeonline

What about Distillery road in NUIG. Was there ever actually a Distillery there?

Tokyo

Yep - the Newcastle Distillery was at the end of the road. You can still see it marked in the old OSI maps

Tokyo

Regarding Millar's/Miller's Lane - the old 1840's ordanance survey maps don't have a mill marked anywhere in the area, on or away from Rahoon stream, and considering that thy have every well, lodge and outhouse marked, I'd find it hard to think that they wouldn't mark it. Additionally, the earliest existing stretches of Millar's Lane formed one of the entrances to Rahoon House, another stretch formed a land access path around Kingston House, and the area seems quite gentried in general, so I can't imagine a mill being slap bang in the middle of all that.

Can't find any Miller's/Millar's registered in the area either, but my guess would be that the name of the laneway is taken from a surname rather than the profession.

Andrea B.

Watermills were well established in Ireland by 7th century, so it could well have been there and gone before OS or gentrification.
Anyhow, as the stream exists on OS and one would assume had existed for centuries before VS no one showing proof of a family name having existed in that area, I'm sticking with my deduction :-)

BTW, I am still searching for records of the O'Distillery family that lived in Newcastle in the 1850's :-)

bobbyss

Andrea B. wrote: »

Watermills were well established in Ireland by 7th century, so it could well have been there and gone before OS or gentrification.
Anyhow, as the stream exists on OS and one would assume had existed for centuries before VS no one showing proof of a family name having existed in that area, I'm sticking with my deduction :-)

BTW, I am still searching for records of the O'Distillery family that lived in Newcastle in the 1850's :-)

If my memory serves me right I would have played in my young days around Persee House in Distillery Road in the 60s or 70s. We though it haunted then. Not sure when it was demolished. I think the Persee family owned most of the land around Newcastle and even up to Rahoon maybe. They might have had something to do with Miller's lane ?

BTW you might be searching a long time for the O'Distillery family archive.