Grafton Street
Bild von National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Grafton Street in Dublin, long before pedestrianisation was even a twinkle in Dublin Corporation’s eye. Check out the tags for the car registrations that are clear enough to read – the only one I’m unsure of is either ZD 6822 or 9822.
Niall McAuley very kindly rounded up the dates for ZC, ZD and IH registration plates:
IH 1 to IH 9999 (Dec 1903 – Jan 1952);
ZC 1 to ZC 9999 (Mar 1937 – Jan 1940);
ZD 1 to ZD 9999 (Jan 1940 – Jan 1947). And Niall gave us this Street View link.
Thanks to MKSeery for this contribution:
"RE date: The Ingersoll building is attributed in DIA to Robert George Hopcraft, who died in 1947.
Terry de Valera writes in 1986 Dublin Historical Record that Monument Café was one of the first café chains in Ireland (note added).
He also mentions other businesses on Grafton St in the early 1940s, from the Trinity end up: Mitchell’s Café (opposite Wicklow St) - "haunt of groups of pugnacious middle-aged, very middle-class ladies", Millar & Beatty furniture shop, Knowles fruit shop, McConnell’s fish merchants and poulterers, Monument Café, Roberts Café, Lambert Briens, and on the other side from the Green down to TCD: Noblett’s sweet shop, and Kapp & Peterson."
Philip Ward has a very personal memory of Fannin’s at no. 41 (next door to Keatinge’s):
"No.41 is Fannin & Co, surgical and medical supplies and chemists at that location from the late 1800s to the mid sixties. My father worked there for many years. I remember visiting him as a young lad of 10 and looking at the Leeches for sale!"
More great information in from MKSeery on Keatinge’s at no. 42:
"It looks like Keatinges were more than just plumbers and decorators, but scholars too! The shop appears in all the earlier Lawrence photos. A Mr Charles T Keatinge, with an address of Grafton St, was a Fellow of the Institute of British Decorators, and wrote a paper for JRSAI in 1900 entitled ‘The Guild of Cutlers, Painter-Stainers and Stationers, Better Known as the Guild of St. Luke the Evangelist, Dublin’.
And one more little thing about Keatinges: an advert that appears (no date but "Saorstat" mentioned) states:
WE ARE CONTRACTORS for every kind of Building from the Foundations to the Final Coat of Paint We decorate homes in every county of Saorstat
Select Your Wall Papers and decide on your Scheme of Decoration in our Showrooms
42 GRAFTON STREET,DUBLIN
J. F. Keatinge & Sons, Ltd. Phone Dublin 224
Your smallest enquiry gets fullest attention "
Good old Thoms Street Directories also allowed MKSeery to confirm our date of Circa 1947 because he:
"had a look in Thom’s for this part of Grafton St. Ingersoll (No. 40) is listed in 1947 but in 1948 No. 40 is Murphy (Jewellers) Ltd.
1947 listing for block below:
No. 43: Bolero Café and Dorothy Begley Confectioners
No. 42: JF Keatinge, contractors for building, plumbing and painting. Gregg School Ltd: Civil Service and Commercial Training School
No. 41: Fannin and Son Surgical Instrument Makers, medical booksellers and chemist. WE Scholl and Son, Manufacturers of Electromedical apparatus.
No. 40: Ingersoll Watch Co (in 1948 this was Murphy (Jewellers) Ltd.)
No. 39: Monument Café. Irish Telephone (New System) Co. Ltd.
No. 38: McConnell Ltd Fish Poultry Game Fruit and Provision Merchants.
No. 37: Monument Creamery. Margaret Gibson, dressmaker. The Parkside Press Ltd., Publishers.
No. 36: Levett and Frye Ltd, Grocers and Wine Merchants."
Date: Circa 1947
NLI Ref.: VAL 1678
Just looking at the bikes pedal-propped against the kerb: not a lock in sight. How times have changed.
Makes me miss home!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/thiskidgotmoxie] Sorry!
ZD9622, ZC8215, IH 4480 I think are the regs I can make out.
Streetview
IH 1 to IH 9999 (Dec 1903 – Jan 1952);
ZC 1 to ZC 9999 (Mar 1937 – Jan 1940);
ZD 1 to ZD 9999 (Jan 1940 – Jan 1947);
it seems to be "one way"?? -Woolworths had a tea rooms!! and I see a horse and trap too!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland] But in a good way! I haven’t been home in about a year and a half, and this photo has me looking forward to strolling along Grafton St again.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/joefuz] ZC 8215 and IH 4480 absolutely! You’re getting ZD 9622, where I thought it was either ZD 6822 or 9822.
Either way, according to [http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley] car registration nos., that brings that car to later in the 1940s?
Really great photo!
RE date: The Ingersoll building is attributed in DIA to Robert George Hopcraft, who died in 1947.
Terry de Valera writes in 1986 Dublin Historical Record that Monument Café was one of the first café chains in Ireland (note added).
He also mentions other businesses on Grafton St in the early 1940s, from the Trinity end up: Mitchell’s Café (opposite Wicklow St) – "haunt of groups of pugnacious middle-aged, very middle-class ladies", Millar & Beatty furniture shop, Knowles fruit shop, McConnell’s fish merchants and poulterers, Monument Café, Roberts Café, Lambert Briens, and on the other side from the Green down to TCD: Noblett’s sweet shop, and Kapp & Peterson.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizinitaly] It certainly looks "one way". Don’t quote me, but I think by the 1970s it was one way "the other way", if you know what I mean…
No.41 is Fannin & Co,surgical and medical supplies and chemists at that location from the late 1800s to the mid sixties.My father worked their for many years.I remember visiting him as a young lad of 10 and looking at the Leeches for sale!.
And not a traffic warden in sight!
A great picture full of nostalgic charm, I love it!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/39393844@N04] Thanks Michael! Love the idea of "pugnacious" ladies roaming Grafton Street in packs…
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/54708393@N08] Lovely story! And you’ve allowed us to achieve an NLI Flickr first – tagging for leeches
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/alimarante] Delighted.
It looks like Keatinges were more than just plumbers and decorators, but scholars too! The shop appears in all the earlier Lawrence photos. A Mr Charles T Keatinge, with an address of Grafton St, was a Fellow of the Institute of British Decorators, and wrote a paper for JRSAI in 1900 entitled "The Guild of Cutlers, Painter-Stainers and Stationers, Better Known as the Guild of St. Luke the Evangelist, Dublin"
And one more little thing about Keatinges: an advert that appears (no date but "Saorstat" mentioned) states:
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/39393844@N04/7154135291/]
My Irish grandmother had a Ford Anglia E04A (see note), which she lent to my parents for their honeymoon in 1947 (they had a hotel room too!).
nice
in Novem – ber
Terrific post Carol, all human life was on Grafton Street that day with the exception of the Peelers and the Army. There are so many cars there and the one Pony and Trap with a fine Messenger Boys bicycle outside the fish shop to deliver to all and sundry! Reminds me of the late Christy Hennessy’s song "I’m a messenger boy"! A famous character from Limerick called "Feathery Bourke" bought up most of the Ground Rents on Grafton Street over the years as a guaranteed source of income, he literally owned the street, or the ground that the street stood on anyway.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/39393844@N04] Fantastic! Should have thought of the Guild of St. Luke – they started in Dublin in 1670, and we have all of their early records here at Library Towers…
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/beachcomberaustralia] Wow, that’s posh for 1947 – not only a Ford Anglia E04A but a hotel room too! Where did they honeymoon?
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/swordscookie] Feathery Bourke? Fantastic name. When would that have been?
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302637@N08/] Couldn’t resist it – had to tag for Dalek!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/23885771@N03/ ]
This Ingersoll shop has the same script as Ingersoll Pocket Watches of the USA.
http://www.antique-pocket-watch.com/ingersoll-watch.html
Were they the same company?
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland] Michael "Feathery" Bourke, died in the 1970′s. He and his mother ran a rag and scrap business right across from the Milk Market in Limerick. He was a very astute if miserly man who had an eye for a profit and from the 1930′s on bought up Ground Rents all over Ireland and Dublin especially. He was robbed in the mid 1960′s and the robbers took a roll of white English notes that were very rare. They were caught when they went to cash them as they were so unusual though still legal tender!
The building occupied by the Monument Café at #39 is now a Burger King, but is has a great record in the DIA as GRAFTON STREET, NO. 039 (LAWRENCE’S TOY SHOP & CIVET CAT BAZAAR):
Date: 1864
Nature: Additions, consisting of large wareroom, archery gallery for butt shooting and photographic gallery with waiting rooms, &c.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/swordscookie] "The 1793 design, latterly known as the "White Fiver" (black printing on white paper), remained in circulation essentially unchanged until 21 February 1957 when the multicoloured (although predominantly dark blue) "Series B" note, depicting the helmeted Britannia was introduced. The old "White Fiver" was withdrawn on 13 March 1961."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England_note_issues
How much is a white 5 pound note worth?
wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_is_a_white_5_pound_note_worth
Had a look in Thom’s for this part of Grafton St. Ingersoll (No. 40) is listed in 1947 but in 1948 No. 40 is Murphy (Jewellers) Ltd.
1947 listing for block below:
No. 43: Bolero Café and Dorothy Begley Confectioners
No. 42: JF Keatinge, contractors for building, plumbing and painting. Gregg School Ltd: Civil Service and Commercial Training School
No. 41: Fannin and Son Surgical Instrument Makers, medical booksellers and chemist. WE Scholl and Son, Manufacturers of Electromedical apparatus.
No. 40: Ingersoll Watch Co (in 1948 this was Murphy (Jewellers) Ltd.)
No. 39: Monument Café. Irish Telephone (New System) Co. Ltd.
No. 38: McConnell Ltd Fish Poultry Game Fruit and Provision Merchants.
No. 37: Monument Creamery. Margaret Gibson, dressmaker. The Parkside Press Ltd., Publishers.
No. 36: Levett and Frye Ltd, Grocers and Wine Merchants.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/14302637@N08] MKSeery checked up on the street/trade directory and says this Ingersoll shop sold watches. Regards. Stuart.
Strange how so many bicycles are precariously balanced on the kerb. No one would do that these days!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnmcauley] I’d pay good cash money to visit a Civet Cat Bazaar!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/swordscookie] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackpoolbeach] Fantastic the pair of you on Feathery Bourke and the White Fivers!
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/39393844@N04] Excellent, Mr! Thank you.
Excellent, I really like this pic
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/13151038@N02] Thanks!
An unusual feature of the facade of Fannin & Co. Ltd at no. 41 was a large, curved pane of glass at the left corner of the entrance. However, the facade gives no indication of the work activity that took place in the building.
On the first floor was the general office; on the third floor was was a workshop where up to 10 women worked, mainly at sewing machines, making a wide range of surgical supports and corsets – all bespoke. On the top floor was a workroom where hypodermic syringes were sharpened and hypodermic needles were sharpened.
To the rear of the building, on similar floors, were workshops where artificial limbs, hand-made surgical footwear, steel spinal supports, crutches, various leg calipers, arch supports, hospital trolleys and furniture were made. Even by the late 1970s there was a fully-fledged forge in daily operation in the metal workshop – and this is just the tip of the iceberg of the activity that went on in this one premises on Grafton Street! How do I know? I worked there for 13 years from 1955.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/69801748@N04] That’s really fascinating! An entire industry in one building. A friend’s granny trained in Gregg School. Did you hang out with that lot?!