Shandon Short History
The Shandon area of Cork is one of the oldest continuously inhabited parts of the city.The name derives from an old fort, (Irish sean dun), which stood on the north bank of the River Lee in the vicinity of the modern North Abbey Square. While the area did not take on its modern contours until the eighteenth century, it was recognised as distinct entity from an early date. A grant of 1183 indicates that Philip de Barry was lord of Shandon; a deed of 1223–30 indicates the existence of Shandon as a separate borough with the right to a weekly market; a petition of 1290 by the “burgesses of Shandon” prayed relief from the extortions of the citizens of Cork city. In 1608, however, a charter of James I extended the city limits to three miles beyond the city walls, incorporating Shandon into the city. .
Little evidence survives of the medieval borough and the Civil Survey of 1654 is the first detailed account of the Shandon area. A settlement of 351 buildings is recorded, largely aligned along the principal roadways of Mallow Lane and Mallow Street, (modern Shandon Street and Gerald Griffith Street), the road to Blarney and the route to the cattle market (modern Blarney Street and Cattle Market Lane) and on the east side Shandon Castle Lane (modern Dominick Street) and Church Lane (modern Church Street). A malting house, a kill (slaughter) house and six mills are recorded. The three principal streets of Mallow Lane, Mallow Street and Blarney Lane accounted for almost one fifth of the built up area of the entire city. .
The area described as the North Strand, the waterfront area at the western end of what is now Pope’s Quay, was the most valuable land in the area. The medieval church of St Mary Shandon and Shandon Castle are also recorded, but by the date of the survey the castle has passed its heyday as the centre of Elizabethan authority in Munster. th Shandon in 1654 is essentially a creation of the middle ages. The principal thoroughfares all have medieval origins as do the Market Place; Shandon Castle lane and Church lane peter off into the countryside on their eastern ends and the area along the Kiln river is entirely underdeveloped. .
John Rocque’s map of 1759 presents an entirely different picture. Modern Shandon, defined for the purposes of this project as the triangle bounded by the North Cathedral, the North Gate Bridge and Christy Ring Bridge, is apparent. The most important difference between Rocque’s map and the Civil Survey is the development of the riverside on both the north channel of the River Lee and its tributary, the Kiln River. The north bank of the Lee is now occupied by trading concerns whose names survive in the area; Farren, Pope, Knapp and Punch. The west bank of the Kiln, now described as Sand Quay, is also heavily developed. The east-west routes of Shandon Castle Lane and Church Lane now continue east to meet the west bank of the Kiln. Laneways run south off Shandon Castle Lane to access the north quays and a new housing development of five street runs north off the eastern part of the lane. Similarly, Church Lane now continues east to meet the new developments on the west bank of the Kiln. A host of new laneways now run east off Shandon Street. As the shipping on the river in Rocque’s map shows, by 1759 the North Channel of the Lee has become the Port of Cork. This development had been in train since at least the 1690’s, by which time the old port, the river along modern Castle Street, had been filled in, and the Customs House had moved to modern Emmet Place. In 1711 Alderman Knapp built a quay wall on the North Bank. In 1713 the North Channel was deepened. In 1718 the widow Pope was given permission to build a quay on the North bank. This movement of the port to the North Channel reflected a major change in the pattern of trade in the city. Prior to 1666 the export of live cattle to England, primarily through Waterford, was a significant part of the Irish economy. In that year, however, the Cattle Acts of Charles I prohibited this trade. The effect was to create a rapid rise in the export of salted beef and butter to the continent. By 1688 Cork was the pre-eminent port in this trade. Between 1720 and 1743 beef exports from the city rose from 58,916 barrels p.a. to 118,306; between 1741 and 1744 butter exports rose from 50,714 cwts. to 97,852 cwts. Shandon was ideally positioned to benefit from this new trade, “partly by the channel on the north side growing deeper, and by a much greater intercourse of people to it, as it lies open to the greatest part of the kingdom.” as one 1750 commentator put it. The clearest evidence of Shandon’s role is the presence of the butter and hide crane on Church Street. It was not economic history alone that left its mark on Shandon. During the Williamite wars of the 1690’s, Cork was besieged and Shandon castle (described by the Duke of Würtemburg as "a large round tower with 16 guns and a good entrenchment”) served as an artillery position for the Williamite forces. The castle was never rebuilt subsequent to the siege and was eventually demolished in 1750. The settlement that followed the wars led to an upsurge of religious and philanthropic activity. In 1690 the church of St Mary’s, Shandon was rebuilt on the lower east side of Shandon street (demolished 1879). A new church, St Ann, Shandon was built on the site of the graveyard of old St Mary’s in 1722. (The parishes were separated in 1738.) In 1716 the Greencoat School was built, on the site of the modern Kinlay House, for the education of 20 boys and 20 girls. Skiddy’s almshouse was built by Cork Corporation in 1718-19, on the site of old St. Mary's churchyard, to adjoin the Greencoat School. In 1721 the North Charitable Infirmary was completed, the first public charitable hospital in the city. (The present building is an 1838 construction) Broadstone’s 1852 map of Cork shows the impact of another momentous event in Irish history on Shandon, the resurgence of the catholic interest culminating in the emancipation Act of 1829. The North Cathedral had not reached its final form by 1850 but its prominent location on the hill and its early foundation, 1801, attest the vigour of the Catholic community and its bishop, Bishop Moylan. The foundation stone of St Mary's, a Dominican church, was laid in 1832. The Priory, which stands behind the church, was begun in 1848. The Priory and the Church, in both their location and architecture, assert the new confidence of mid-nineteenth century Roman Catholicism. The Priory, Cathedral and Church are each expressions of a long connection between post reformation Catholic Church and the Shandon area.