Collectively, the streets formed the principal route from the city leading north for hundreds of years, the urban form of which has remained largely unchanged. The area was the industrial centre of the city in the 19th century, evident by the high concentration of tanneries, distilleries, mills, maltings and breweries that once occupied it. This has resulted in a rich legacy of industrial archaeology within the area. 1.29 The first, southern, sub-area has a mix of uses but is mainly residential in character, with two and three-storey, mainly two-bay dwellings lining Gerald Griffin Street. Commercial and institutional buildings are largely located at the southern end of the area. The North Presentation Convent, associated with the area since the late 18th century, dominates the south-eastern section of the sub-area, while there is a high-density residential area to the south-west located around Farren Street. These are laneways of one and two-storey houses, typical of the historic urban patterns prevalent in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries. 1.30 The second middle sub-area of the area along Great William O’Brien Street is largely residential in character consisting mainly of 19th century housing. There are a number of examples of 18th century buildings, notably at No.54, possibly the earliest building in the area, notable for its simple vernacular quality. The first example of modern social housing in Cork is found on the eastern side of the road in the form of Madden’s Buildings, which were built by Cork Corporation in 1886. These are an important part of Cork’s social heritage. 1.31 The third sub-area is centred on Blackpool Village, the area surrounding the church, the site of the original marketplace. This area has retained its historic street pattern resembling an elongated ‘X’. This unusual layout was dictated by the waterways that subsequently influenced the layout of the streets. Buildings have generally commercial and/ or residential uses, are two and three-storeys in height, of two or three-bays, and largely date from the 19th and 20th centuries. Mature trees line the western side of the road leading to the village centre from the south. The attractive pair of 18th century buildings at Nos. 96 and 97 (Dennehy’s Fish Shop and adjacent building) terminate the northern vista from Great William O’Brien Street and provide an attractive bookend to the street.
Building Typology
1.32 The area’s building stock ranges from the 18th to 20th century but is mainly characterised by the 19th century residential two and three-storey buildings that line the principal thoroughfare. Several examples of 18th century buildings, are also evident, identified by their steeply pitched roofs and narrower openings on the upper floors. As is traditional in the area, buildings are generally constructed of rubble-stone or brick, usually rendered and painted. Smaller one and two-storey dwellings are located in the laneways off the main street, indicative of the type of building and plot layout prevalent in the 18th and 19th centuries. 1.33 The Church of the Annunciation dominates the streetscape of the village centre and is significant as the work of the sculptor Seamus Murphy who served his apprenticeship in a Blackpool stone yard. There are a number of traditional timber shopfronts in the area that have been retained even in cases where the buildings no longer serve as commercial premises. Where buildings have retained their original features and finishes, they have painted plastered facades, roofs of natural stone slate, cast- iron rainwater goods, and painted timber doors and sash windows.
Issues
1.34 The area around Blackpool Village centre and the northern part of Great William O’Brien Street benefitted greatly from the Blackpool Renewal Scheme which improved the aesthetic quality of the streetscape by introducing features such as mature trees, attractive iron lamp standards, and simple, well-designed paving and soft landscaping. Other sections of the street would benefit from a similar scheme both to enhance their environmental quality and to emphasise the continuity of the character of the historic route. The retention of the traditional timber shopfronts in the southern part of the area should be encouraged as they provide a social narrative on the street’s former commercial viability at one time and are in themselves often of good quality.
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Cork City Draft Development Plan 2022-2028
Volume 3 I Part 1
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