Cork Heritage Open Day Brochure

Triskel Christchurch

The Courthouse

Christ Church, South Main Street Open 11am to 5pm Partial wheelchair access

Washington Street Tours at 10.30am, 12pm & 12.45pm Full wheelchair access

The first courthouse on the Washington Street site was built in 1836. It is believed that this original Courthouse was designed by the brothers Richard and George Pain. This building was destroyed by fire on Good Friday, March 27th, 1891 and with it much of the City’s official records which were stored in the City Treasure and Sheriff’s office. All that remained was the portico and façade on Washington Street. The present courthouse is a Neo-Classical Courthouse with Corinthian detail. It was rebuilt in 1895 by William Hill architect and Samuel Hill building contractor. It was originally designed with an open courtyard to its centre in which the bar room was located, providing the barristers immediate access to the two main courtrooms. The building has remained largely unaltered since that time until April 2003 when it was fully refurbished. The project took 20 months to complete at a total costs of €26 million and was re-opened in 2005. Wherever possible the original architecture of the building has been retained and carefully restored. This includes the courtroom furniture, upholstery, fireplaces and decorative plaster. The highlight of this building is the skyline dome which has been completely restored, re- fenestrated and re-clad externally in copper. This building is considered to be one of the best examples of Neo-Classical public architecture in Ireland and one of the most important buildings in the city both from an architectural and social history perspective. Guided tours of the Courthouse, Washington Street will take place at 10.30am, 12pm & 12.45pm. Booking essential on www.corkheritageopenday.ie/events

Christchurch is located on South Main Street, once the main street of medieval Cork. The present-day church sits on the site of two previous churches, the first dating from around 1050 AD, the second an Anglo- Norman Structure dating from around 1180 AD. Present day Christchurch is an 18th century neoclassical Georgian building (1720) designed by architect John Coltsman with later renovations carried out by George Richard Pain in 1825. Christchurch was the main civic church of the city from the mid- 17th to the mid-19th century and was the burial place of some of the chief citizens of Medieval Cork. The best-known tombstone within Christchurch is that of “The Modest Man”, which was dedicated to twice Mayor of Cork Thomas Ronan (d 1554). It is visible near the Stone Stairs of Christchurch.