Howth Quarry

I was up in Howth today wandering around and happened upon a little garden just inside the gates of the quarry. It's immaculately maintained and has a stone obviously set up for an inscription, but no inscription on it. Some rarish trees growing there, and the little ponds are full of tadpoles (lovely to see!). It looks as though it was supposed to be extended, a set of steps lead into the briars and there are gateposts built next to it, but only rubble behind.

Can anyone shed any light on this lovely little discovery for me? Thanks!

chopper6

Deleted User wrote: »

I was up in Howth today wandering around and happened upon a little garden just inside the gates of the quarry. It's immaculately maintained and has a stone obviously set up for an inscription, but no inscription on it. Some rarish trees growing there, and the little ponds are full of tadpoles (lovely to see!). It looks as though it was supposed to be extended, a set of steps lead into the briars and there are gateposts built next to it, but only rubble behind.

Can anyone shed any light on this lovely little discovery for me? Thanks!

Don't know a great deal about them but they've been there since i was a kid...we used to call them the 3 skimming Pools..used to catch frogs there quite a bit.


I was there a few months ago and they could probably do with a clean...the pools are choked up with weed and silt...mind you i nicked a few water lillies for my own pond.

miss no stars

Yeah that's been there decades at this stage. I always assumed it was a display for the uses of the stone quarried there...

tricky D

It's clean at the moment with loads of tadpoles. I topped it up with some water earlier.

expectationlost

http://www.howth-stone.com/

tricky D

tricky D wrote: »

It's clean at the moment with loads of tadpoles. I topped it up with some water earlier.

Nice job, it was looking good on Tuesday when I discovered it (I'm not from around these parts!) Neat little discovery, I love stuff like that.

Are we all talking about the same gardens?

tricky D

Deleted User wrote: »

Are we all talking about the same gardens?

Yup. I'll post a very recent photo from another angle tomorrow.

chopper6

tricky D wrote: »

Yup. I'll post a very recent photo from another angle tomorrow.

Would you believe it..i'm talking about different ones completely!

The ones i'm on about are along the summit road.

neris

chopper6 wrote: »

Would you believe it..i'm talking about different ones completely!

The ones i'm on about are along the summit road.

is that the little park below the carpark with a pond? just before the summit heading up Carrickbrack road

chopper6

neris wrote: »

is that the little park below the carpark with a pond? just before the summit heading up Carrickbrack road

Yep...there's three ponds at different levels...almost impossible to find unless you're looking for them.

I thought the descriptions didn't match. This garden looks quite new (and the area looks incomplete). Now I'm going to have to go find the other ponds!

chopper6

Deleted User wrote: »

I thought the descriptions didn't match. This garden looks quite new (and the area looks incomplete). Now I'm going to have to go find the other ponds!

To the right of the carpark and down a bit of a hill. There's trees growing round them.

miss no stars

Also accessible from Old Thormanby Road.

chopper6

miss no stars wrote: »

Also accessible from Old Thormanby Road.

Correct.

I would love to know more about them,as i said they've been there for a long time indeed.

Dizzyblonde

I'm going to go looking for them next time I'm in Howth too

miss no stars

Not that much to see :P Few dirty ponds. I dunno what you'd even do with them, which is a shame really.

chopper6

miss no stars wrote: »

Not that much to see :P Few dirty ponds. I dunno what you'd even do with them, which is a shame really.

They're cool,man...they're cool

neris

if thats it then its miles away from the quarry. the quarry is on the middle hill.

chopper6

neris wrote: »

if thats it then its miles away from the quarry. the quarry is on the middle hill.

I'm not from the area so i assumed it was the ponds i'm referring to.

So, does anyone know why this particular garden was built? Looking at the gate posts around there it looks like a whole housing development may have been planned at some stage. Maybe the gardens were rather premature! Still, very pretty.

miss no stars

Deleted User wrote: »

So, does anyone know why this particular garden was built? Looking at the gate posts around there it looks like a whole housing development may have been planned at some stage. Maybe the gardens were rather premature! Still, very pretty.

As a sales pitch for Howth stone. Never heard anything about plans for housing estate there. Doubt they'd ever get permission in that location.

tricky D

The chances of getting planning permission are close to zero for that area. Some one bought some of the land one or two hundred metres north of the quarry and started making some changes only to be mandated to stop immediately, so the story goes. If the land had development potential, the price would have been a steal, but it'll only be good for grazing the horses for the foreseeable future.

Mind you, that said, change could happen as there's a load of new development starting at the site about 600 metres to the east in the field bounded by Thormanby Road, Kitestown Road and Thormanby Woods.

neris

Theres no planning permissions been granted up around the quarry for new developments its green belt protected land. There is one field there not to far from the quarry that can be built in as there is the ruins of an old building in it. The only thing is the new building has to be for the same purposes as the ruined one and I dont see there been to much demand for a milking parlour on howth summit. There was plans back around the late 80s early 90s to turn some of the area up there into halting sites