The Richmond Tower is an historical gateway to the Royal Hospital,

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. History Origins Kilmainham's foundation dates ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, designed by Francis Johnston and named after the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

, the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

at the time. Built between 1810 and 1811, the gateway originally stood beside 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 ...

at Barrack Bridge at the junction of Watling Street and Victoria Quay, the tower had to be moved after the building of nearby Kingsbridge Station in 1846 caused traffic congestion at the site. The tower was dismantled and erected at its present location the following year at the expense of the railway company. Following the move the structure was renamed from Watling Street Gatehouse to Richmond Tower, though it is sometimes referred to as the West Gate due to its location west of the main hospital building. Johnston had placed his personal coat of arms above the arch, concealed by a piece of wood painted to match the stone, his idea being that his arms would be revealed to future generations after the wood became rotten. However, this was uncovered when the gateway was taken down for removal. The current coat of arms on the gateway is that of the Royal Hospital. The tower is made from Dublin calp limestone.

Gallery

File:Richmond-tower02.JPG, Coat of arms on the tower File:Richmond-tower03.JPG, Information sign at tower File:Richmond Tower from Inchicore Road.jpg, The tower as seen from outside the Kilmainham Courthouse.

References

External links

History section of Royal Hospital Kilmainham website
(archived)
Archiseek.com article on Richmond Tower
{{coord, 53.34211, N, 6.306763, W, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Buildings and structures in Dublin (city) Kilmainham Towers in Dublin (city)