The Georgian mile is an unofficial term used to describe a continuous, near mile-long thoroughfare largely lined with
Georgian townhouses in
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
. It comprises Fitzwilliam Place,
Fitzwilliam Square East, Fitzwilliam Street, and
Merrion Square East. According to
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
, the stretch was once "the longest and arguably the finest Georgian streetscape in the world."
It was built between the 1780s and the 1830s.
1965 demolition of 16 houses
In 1962, Ireland's
Electricity Supply Board
The Electricity Supply Board (ESB; ga, Bord Soláthair an Leictreachais) is a state owned (95%; the rest are owned by employees) electricity company operating in the Republic of Ireland. While historically a monopoly, the ESB now operates as ...
announced plans to level 16 houses on the Lower Fitzwilliam Street portion of the mile in order to build a new headquarters and to accommodate its growing presence on the street.
The move resulted in widespread pushback from the city's conservationists and would become a bone of contention between preservationists and the ESB for 50 years.
Those in opposition to the demolition included the
Irish Georgian Society
The Irish Georgian Society is an architectural heritage and preservation organisation which promotes and aims to encourage an interest in the conservation of distinguished examples of architecture and the allied arts of all periods across Ire ...
, actor
Micheál MacLiammóir
Micheal is a masculine given name. It is sometimes an anglicized form of the Irish names Micheál, Mícheál and Michéal; or the Scottish Gaelic name Mìcheal. It is also a spelling variant of the common masculine given name '' Michael'', and is ...
and artist
Seán Keating
Seán Keating (born John Keating, 28 September 1889 – 21 December 1977) was an Irish romantic-realist painter who painted some iconic images of the Irish War of Independence and of the early industrialization of Ireland. He spent two week ...
.
Princess Grace of Monaco
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
also lent her support for the preservation of the houses.
In spite of this, the demolition went ahead in 1965. The firm
Stephenson Gibney & Associates was hired to design a new ESB building that would occupy the entire site. It was completed in 1978. The modernist building that resulted was largely unliked in the city and was subsequently called “a brutish intrusion on a polite classical assembly”.
It is reported that Arthur Gibney and Sam Stephenson regretted their design in later years.
2013 plan to redevelop the site
In 2013, the ESB unveiled plans to redevelop the 1978 building.
[{{Cite web , date=2013-10-14 , title=Dublin City Council considers ESB plans for 'Georgian Quarter' , url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2013/1014/480363-esb-georgian-quarter/ , access-date=2022-08-07 , website=]RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
The new headquarters opened in 2022 and was designed by Grafton Architects. It was described as a “chameleon-like scheme” that is “hiding in plain view among the Georgian brick façades” by the
Architects’ Journal.
Gallery
File:Grafton architects new build.jpg, alt=, The 2022 redevelopment by Grafton Architects
File:Georgian mile Dublin.jpg, alt=, Townhouses along the mile
File:EndofGeorgianmile.jpg, Holles Street Hospital sits at the northeastern end of the mile
File:Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin.jpg, Houses along Fitzwilliam Street being demolished in 1965
See also
*
Georgian Dublin
''Georgian Dublin'' is a phrase used in terms of the history of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings:
# to describe a historic period in the development of the city of Dublin, Ireland, from 1714 (the beginning of the reign of King George I ...
*
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
References
Streets in Dublin (city)
Neoclassical architecture in Ireland
Georgian architecture in Ireland