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The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...
in 1758, at the request of
Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...
, as a body to govern standards on the layout of streets, bridges, buildings and other architectural considerations in
Dublin 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 ...
. The commission was abolished by the Dublin Improvement Act of 1849, with the final meeting of the Commission taking place on 2 January 1851. Other
improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ir ...
in Dublin in the same era were the Pipe Water Committee for
drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...
, the Paving Board for footpaths and sewerage, and the Ballast Board for Dublin Port.


History

The Wide Streets Commission was established in 1758. Over the following decades, the commission reshaped the old medieval city of Dublin, and created a network of main thoroughfares by wholesale demolition or widening of old streets or the creation of entirely new ones. One of the first projects was to widen ''Essex Bridge'' (now
Grattan Bridge Grattan Bridge () is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, and joining Capel Street to Parliament Street and the south quays. History The first bridge on this site was built by Sir Humphrey Jervis in 1676. It was named ...
), in 1755 to cope with the traffic congestion caused by human, horse-drawn, and bovine traffic crossing the
River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...
from
Capel Street Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin. History Capel ...
. The building of Parliament Street and the ''Royal Exchange'' (now
Dublin City Hall The City Hall, Dublin (), originally the Royal Exchange, is a civic building in Dublin, Ireland. It was built between 1769 and 1779, to the designs of architect Thomas Cooley, and is a notable example of 18th-century architecture in the city. ...
), to create a vista from across the river Liffey on Capel Street, soon followed. Other major initiatives, under the then Chief Commissioner John Beresford, included the effort to merge and widen several narrow streets into one new street on Dublin's
northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, England * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * " Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vinc ...
, creating Sackville Street (now called
O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Hen ...
). The main north–south axis of the city was thus moved from Capel Street and Parliament Street to the new thoroughfare further east. The widening of
Dame Street Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland. History The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th ...
, between Cork Hill and College Green was the second great initiative of the commission. This work was initiated in 1777, but it was not until 1782 that the first new building was built at Palace Street. Christchurch and George's Street are also the result of the project of widening
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 ...
's congested streets. North Frederick Street was created from 1789 linking Sackville Street and Dorset Street. Between 1785 and 1790 further phases of the Dame Street project was undertaken between George's Lane and Trinity Street. Drawings exist dated 1832 for the buildings between Fownes Street and Temple Lane. Westmoreland Street (90 feet wide), and D'Olier Street (90 feet wide and designed by Henry Aaron Baker) and part of Burgh Quay (1806) including the new Corn Exchange, formed part of the work of the commission. Originally many of the new houses had 15 feet high granite shop fronts at street level which were divided into three bays, a narrow bay at each side, incorporating a door, and a wide bay at the middle of the facade for the display of goods. Many of these shopfronts still remain on the west side of d'Olier Street. Many of the Wide Street Commission buildings can be seen today on streets with granite shopfronts at ground floor level and brick facades above. They are generally streets with standardised house designs such as Burgh Quay. Wellington Quay - with its arcaded shop fronts - and Merchants Arch are also part of the commission's work, as are Eden Quay, Lower Abbey Street, Bachelor's Walk, and Beresford Place.


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 ...
*
History of Dublin The City of Dublin can trace its origin back more than 1,000 years, and for much of this time it has been Ireland's principal city and the cultural, educational and industrial centre of the island. Founding and early history The earliest refe ...


References

{{History of Dublin 1757 establishments in Ireland History of Dublin (city) Improvement commissioners