Christchurch Place is a street in central

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, formerly known as Skinners Row or Skinner's Row, it formed one of the main thoroughfares in medieval Dublin.

History

The street runs along the southern edge of Christ Church Cathedral. It was previously known as Skinners or Skinner's Row, named for the traders working on leather and hides that once occupied the street. It was lined by a number of historically important but now demolished buildings. Before the

Wide Streets Commission The Wide Streets Commission (officially the Commissioners for making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1758, at the request of Dublin Corporation, as a body to govern standards on the layou ...

, the street was apparently as narrow as 17 feet and was described by Sir John Gilbert as "a narrow and sombre alley". Where it met Castle Street, there was a

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stocks ...

, and at the junction with High Street, there was the now-lost High Market Cross. It also met

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward Stre ...

at a short stretch which was known as Booth Street. One of the key buildings of Skinner's Row was The Tholsel, which stood on the junction of Skinner's Row, Nicholas Street and High Street. This building dated from 1680s, but a structure with a similar function had stood on this site from the early 1300s. It was demolished in 1809, with nothing of the structure remaining. Some of the statues from The Tholsel are now on display in Christ Church Cathedral. A small park named the Peace Park now occupies the site. The Market Cross also stood near the western end of the junction with High Street. One of its earliest confirmed mentions is from a public punishment in 1571 however it was likely erected much earlier. The last remaining drawing of the cross is by John Simmons in 1776. It was then taken down sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century and its whereabouts are now unknown. Throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s, Skinner's Row was the street where many booksellers, printers, jewellers and goldsmiths worked from. It was also the location of

Dick's Coffee House Dick's Coffee House was a significant Irish coffeehouse in the 17th and 18th century. Dick's was one of Dublin's most famous and long lasting coffeehouses, established by Richard Pue in the late 17th century, at some point before July 1698. Pue ...

in Carberry House, which was demolished in 1780 and Stationers' Hall which housed one of the Guilds of the City of Dublin until it was demolished for road widening in June 1762. Skinner's Row was the narrowest point in the streets of Dublin at the time, and in the 1820s the street was widened and renamed Christchurch Place. The Market Cross, Dublin

References

{{authority control Streets in Dublin (city)

History

See also

References