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Britain Quay

Britain Quay
Britain Quay (foreground) with North Wall Quay in background (2009)
Britain Quay is located in Dublin
Britain Quay
Native nameCé na Breataine (Irish)
NamesakeGreat Britain
Length200 m (660 ft)
Width23 metres (75 ft)
LocationDublin, Ireland
Postal codeD02
Coordinates53°20′42″N 6°13′52″W / 53.345°N 6.231°W / 53.345; -6.231
west endBlood Stoney Road
north endSir John Rogerson's Quay
Construction
Construction start1790s
Other
Known forU2 Tower site, offices
Chemical works fire, Britain Quay and Sir John Rogerson's Quay (1920)
The Hailing Station, Dublin (1907 - 2007)

Britain Quay (Irish: Cé na Breataine)[1] is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between Sir John Rogerson's Quay and the confluence of the River Liffey, River Dodder and Grand Canal.

Originally known as Great Britain Quay, the quay was built in the 1790s as part of the opening of Grand Canal Dock.[2] The quay was widened in the mid-19th century,[2] with works undertaken to dredge and deepen the riverbed alongside the quay wall in the 1870s.[3] In 1873, Great Britain Quay was recorded as being 250 feet (76 m) in length.[3]

Part of the working Dublin Port facilities for several hundred years, the quay was a docking point for coal carrying cargo vessels,[4] and the site of a number of industrial buildings – including a chemical works which was destroyed by fire in the early 20th century.[5][6] By this time the quay's structures also included a navigation "hailing station" at the junction with Sir John Rogerson's Quay.[7] A time ball sat on top of this station which, when operated remotely from Dunsink Observatory, signaled that it was 1pm.[8][4] In the early 21st century this station, by then a protected structure, was demolished by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.[7][9] This demolition occurred as part of development works at the corner between Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay in preparation for the construction of the U2 Tower, which would have been Ireland's tallest building.[10] That project was later scrapped in the economic downturn, and ultimately Capital Dock was erected on the site (Ireland's tallest building on its completion in 2018).[10]

Remaining buildings on the Record of Protected Structures on Britain Quay include a former lock keeper's cottage and the three nearby canal locks which separate Grand Canal Dock from the River Liffey.[11] These three locks, named Westmoreland Lock, Buckingham Lock, and Camden Lock, were built in 1796.[12][13]

A public transport bridge (carrying pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport only) had been proposed to connect Britain Quay to York Road across the River Dodder.[14][15][16] As of early 2018, the proposed bridge (described in planning documents under the interim project name of the "Dodder Public Transportation Opening Bridge") was in an initial public consultation phase.[17]

  1. ^ "Cé na Breataine / Britain Quay". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b John W. De Courcy (1996). "Great Britain Quay". The Liffey in Dublin. Gill & Macmillan. p. 182. The construction of an entrance to the Grand Canal Docks in 1796 necessitated [..a..] new wall which was then made between the Liffey and the entrance was given the name of Great Britain Quay, and this name appears on the 1838 OS map. In subsequent alterations this quay was widened, new buildings were erected on it and the original Great Britain Quay, or Britain Quay, became a street rather than a quay
  3. ^ a b "Port and Docks Improvements". Irish Builder and Engineer. XIV (318): 73. 15 March 1873. the contractor [..] is making satisfactory progress with the deepening of Great Britain-quay, the wall of which is built to the length of 250 ft
  4. ^ a b Turtle Bunbury (2008). "The Docklands - Rogerson's Quay - The Hailing Station". turtlebunbury.com. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  5. ^ "POD035 Detail from map showing Grand Canal Dock and Sir John Rogerson's Quay" (Map). Port Of Dublin Collection. Dublin City Council Archive. 1926. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Coverage of fire". Irish Independent. 22 November 1920. A large section of Messrs. Paul and Vincent's chemical works [..off Sir John..] Rogerson's quay, Dublin, was destroyed by fire yesterday. Three sections of the Fire Brigade arrived, but the fire had got such a grip that their efforts were restricted to preventing it spreading
  7. ^ a b "1907 – South Hailing Station, Britain Quay, Dublin". Lost Buildings of Ireland. Archiseek. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  8. ^ British Islands Pilot: The coasts of Ireland. United States Hydrographic Office. 1917. p. 184. A time ball situated at the northern end of Great Britain Quay, at an elevation of about 80 feet above high water, is dropped by electricity from Dunsink Observatory at 1 h., 0 m., 0 sec. p. m., Greenwich mean time
  9. ^ "Anger as listed structure on quays removed". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2019. The hailing station, on the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay, was demolished by the DDDA as part of its redevelopment plans
  10. ^ a b Paul O'Rourke (10 October 2016). "New bridge for Ringsend". News Four. Retrieved 17 November 2019. the historical hailing station which stood at the end of Britain Quay [..] was demolished in 2007 under suspicious circumstances to clear a path for a road connection to the famous U2 tower. That construction never went ahead, but Capital Dock has since taken its place
  11. ^ Record of Protected Structures in Dublin City (PDF) (Report). Dublin City Council. December 2010. p. 33.
  12. ^ "Dublin - the Grand Canal Docks - 2004 & 2008". heritageboatassociation.ie. Heritage Boat Association. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2019. Westmoreland, Buckingham and Camden Locks built in 1796 as the entrance from the River Liffey to the Grand Canal, and the original lock-keeper's cottage at Britain Quay, have been declared heritage structures
  13. ^ "Westmoreland Lock, Buckingham Lock, Camden Lock, Dublin City". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  14. ^ Paul Melia (23 May 2014). "Green light for massive Docklands development will ease office crisis". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  15. ^ "No Bus Or Taxi Access To Ringsend From Proposed Dodder Bridge". 98fm.ie. 98FM. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Ringsend to City Centre - Core Bus Corridor - Preferred Route Public Consultation February 2019". busconnects.ie. National Transport Authority. February 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019. At the eastern end at Britain Quay it is proposed to tie [the new route] with the proposed Dodder Public Transportation Opening Bridge currently being progressed by Dublin City Council
  17. ^ "Dodder Public Transportation Opening Bridge: Public Consultation". dublincity.ie. Dublin City Council. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
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