Sir John Rogerson's Quay
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Sir John Rogerson's Quay () is a street and
quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...
in Dublin on the south bank of the
River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, 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 Tributary, tributaries include t ...
between City Quay in the west and Britain Quay. Named for politician and property developer
Sir John Rogerson ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...
(1648–1724), the quay was formerly part of
Dublin Port Dublin Port () is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximately two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the island of Ireland. Locatio ...
. It has some of the few remaining campshire warehouses in Dublin.


Construction and use

In 1713,
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 si ...
leased lands on the Liffey to Sir John Rogerson, who was a developer and had been
Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...
from 1693 to 1694. The lease of on the south bank of the river (described as 'betwixt Lazy Hill and
Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...
') was conditional on Rogerson constructing a quay on the land. As part of the privately funded development, a quay wall was built facing the river, with a second wall built further inland. The gap between these walls was filled with sand and gravel dredged from the Liffey. The project commenced in 1716, with the initial phase completed by the early 1720s.
John Rocque John Rocque (originally Jean; –1762) was a French-born British surveyor and cartographer, best known for his detailed John Rocque's Map of London, 1746, map of London published in 1746. Life and career Rocque was born in France in about 1704 ...
's 1756 map of Dublin shows Rogerson's quay as largely developed by the mid-18th century. During the early 19th century, the quay serviced larger freight vessels, including colliers which brought coal (from ports like
Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
in England) to feed the coal and gas works at nearby Hanover Quay. By the 20th century, Sir John Rogerson's Quay was home to a number of
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
and
shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
companies, as well as several storehouse types, including cold stores and ' campshire' sheds. At the beginning of the "Lotus-Eaters" episode of
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
's '' Ulysses'', set in 1904, Leopold Bloom, one of the novel's protagonists, walks along Rogerson's Quay. Joyce describes it at the time as busy with lorry traffic and notes some of the businesses along it—a
linseed Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of the ...
crusher, the postal telegraph office, and a sailor's home.


Modern-day

As of the early 21st century, the previously functional maritime buildings and features of Sir John Rogerson's Quay have been redeveloped for heritage tourism, and newer office buildings have been built on the quay. This has included redevelopment of the quay's 'campshire' warehouses (associated with the historical use of the quay as a military 'camp'), and the renovation of a mid-19th century
diving bell A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...
made by Grendons of
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
. The diving bell has been a feature of the quays since the 1870s, and was used to build and maintain many of the walls of Dublin's quays.


References


External links

{{Streets in Dublin city, state=autocollapse Quays in Dublin (city) Dublin Docklands Streets in Dublin (city)