A brief history of Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 and Georgian Dublin
Waterloo Lodge Accommodation
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Census of Ireland, 1911 - Residents of 23 Waterloo Road, Ballsbridge- The Wilson Family.
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A brief history of Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Ballsbridge Village Dublin - The area is named after Balls Bridge, a three-arched cut stone bridge built over the River Dodder in 1791. Development began some fifty years later, when the Earl of Pembroke leased out his vast estates in the area and large red brick houses were built for upper class families. City politics at the time gave Ballsbridge its exclusive air: Planning regulations at the time decreed that houses for the working class were restricted to Irishtown and Ringsend to the North East of Ballsbridge.
Ballsbridge is now arguably Dublin's most exclusive address. Streets such as
Shrewsbury Road, Ailesbury Road, Merrion Road and Waterloo Road boast the highest real estate prices in Ireland with asking prices of up to €10 million for a single property.
The area has traditionally been the home of the majority of foreign embassies and
diplomatic representations in Dublin. It is not hard to see why the rich and powerful come to Ballsbridge: Originally developed in Victorian times, the streets are wide and tree lined and houses are substantial and set back in vast private grounds. Of all Dublin areas,
Ballsbridge has the least built-up and most 'private' feel. Yet, despite the space and relative tranquility, Ballsbridge is only minutes away from the city centre.
Georgian Dublin
Dublin in the 18th Century, a Renaissance.
During the course of the 18th century, Dublin was transformed from a mediaeval town
into one of the finest Georgian cities in Europe. It was an exciting and vibrant time.
Very much of what you see about you to-day, in the inner city, only dates from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It is the period sometimes called the 'Georgian Era',
so named from the kings who reigned in Britain and Ireland at that time.
Peace and stability in the country had given rise to great social and economic activity.
The city prospered, the medieval walls were swept away and new broad streets and fine squares were built on what had been open land on both sides of the River Liffey.
Social and economic activity began in Dublin and the medieval walls were swept away.
The river was embanked and graceful bridges were built. Dublin was now has a thriving business and a vibrant social scene.
Architecture was one of the major outward expressions of this revival. Dublin owes many of her great civic buildings to this era, and most of the imposing rosy brick streets and grand squares for which the city is famous were built at this time. Government dignitaries and the aristocracy built townhouses in what is now Dublin 1, 2 and Dublin 4.
New wide streets and squares, such as St. Stephen's Green, Fitzwilliam Square & Merrion Square, reflected the importance of Dublin. The expansion of the city towards the east and south-east was particularly significant and that expansion was greatly facilitated by the reclamation of land from the shallow estuary of the Liffey. Already by the 1720's, the Dawson Street and Molesworth Street areas were being developed. The Mansion House on Kildare Street was bought by the Corporation and despite later alterations, much of original house remains.
Even before the end of the seventeenth century, plots of land were being sold around the margins of St. Stephen's Green and on the nearby Fitzwilliam Estate some of the most exciting building work took place. From the seventeen-fifties onwards, for about a century, great houses were put up around Merrion Square, which was laid out as a private park. Then followed Fitzwilliam Square (which still remains a private square) and thoroughfares like Fitzwilliam and Baggot streets gave dignity to the new quarter.
