North Main Street (Cork)

North Main Street (Irish: An Phríomhshráid Thuaidh) is a street and retail area in Cork City, Ireland.

North Main Street
North Main Street in 2015
Native nameAn Phríomhshráid Thuaidh
Length300 m (1,000 ft)
Width17 metres (56 ft)
LocationCork, Ireland
Postal codeT12
Coordinates51.899843°N 8.478522°W / 51.899843; -8.478522
north endNorth Gate Bridge, Kyrl's Quay, Bachelor's Quay
Major
junctions		Shandon Street, Washington Street
south endCastle Street, Liberty Street, South Main Street
Construction
Inauguration13th century AD
Other
Known forSt. Peter's Cork, shops

History

Medieval Cork City was separated in two by channels of the River Lee, with the northern part of the main street being the North Main Street and the southern island containing the South Main Street, both of which were connected by a bridge built in 1190.[1] It is not believed that North Main Street was extensively inhabited until the 13th century, following the walling of the northern island in sandstone, after which it became the main street of medieval Cork. At this time, the population of the walled city consisted primarily of Anglo-Norman merchant families.[2][3] Property on North Main Street was divided into strips running perpendicular to the street, known as burgage plots.[1]

16th century map of Cork, which includes St Peter's Church and Skiddy's Castle on North Main Street

A number of archaeological excavations of the area have revealed the remains of houses which were Anglo-Norman in style, made mainly of timber and wattle. The building of houses from timber posed a fire risk, and declined after May 1622, when a lightning strike on North Main Street resulted in a loss of 1500 houses in the city.[2] Other 20th century excavations focused on Skiddy's Castle, a 15th century tower house which became a gunpowder magazine for a period, prior to its demolition in the late 18th century.[4][5][6]

At the top of the North Main street in medieval Cork was the North Gate Bridge and adjacent North Gate Castle, which later saw use as a jail.[7][8] The street was also the principal street of the parish of St. Peter's,[9] the parish church now in use as the Cork Vision Centre.[2] In the 1820s, St Patrick's Street began to overtake North Main Street as the primary business street of the city.[10] Slum clearances were conducted around North Main Street in the 1850s and late 1870s, the former "cosmetic rather than socially ameliorative," the latter as part of a rehousing initiative.[11]

A number of businesses on North Main Street were destroyed by fire during the Burning of Cork in December 1920.[12]

Later development

North Main street has undergone some redevelopment in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with the construction of a cinema, apartment blocks and a shopping centre. A heritage conservation project was carried out on the street in the mid-1990s.[13] The street was also included in the "Painting and Facade Scheme" in 2016, which received grant aid from Cork City Council to give incentive to building owners in some parts of the city centre to paint their buildings.[14][15] A number of groups, including the 'North Main Street Traders’ Association', have advocated further initiatives to 'rejuvenate' the street - following 'a decline' in commercial activity in the early 21st century.[16][17][18]

References
  1. "Medieval City of Cork > About Cork > CorkCity.ie". www.corkcity.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. "Cork Heritage » 2b. Life in Medieval Cork". corkheritage.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  3. "The Walls of Cork > About Cork > - CorkCity.ie". www.corkcity.ie. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  4. "Skiddy's Castle". Cork Past & Present. Cork City Libraries. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Skiddy's Castle stood near the junction of present-day Adelaide Street and the North Main Street [.and.] after 1601 it [..] was used as a gunpowder magazine [.before.] most of the building was demolished in the late 1770s
  5. Henry A. Jefferies (November 2010). "Viking Cork". Vol. 18 no. 6. History Ireland. Between 1974 and 1977 Dermot Twohig of UCC supervised major archaeological excavations at Skiddy’s Castle, off North Main Street Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. Charles Smith (1815). The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork (Volume 1). Cork: John Connor. p. 368.
  7. "North Main Street - Cork Past & Present". www.corkpastandpresent.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. "North Main Street Cork - The Marsh Cork | Cork City Centre". Cork City Centre. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  9. Lewis, Kae. "The Historical Records of Cork, Ireland". www.corkrecords.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  10. "Historic Outline - Cork Past & Present". www.corkpastandpresent.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  11. Cronin, Maura (2005). "Place, Class and Politics". In Crowley, John; Devoy, Robert; Linehan, Denis; O'Flanagan, Patrick (eds.). Atlas of Cork City. Cork University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-85918-380-9.
  12. Gerry White, Brendan O'Shea (2006). The Burning of Cork. Mercier Press. p. 79. ISBN 9781856355223.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  13. Mansergh, Nicholas (2005). "Planning and Development". In Crowley, John; Devoy, Robert; Linehan, Denis; O'Flanagan, Patrick (eds.). Atlas of Cork City. Cork University Press. pp. 408, 426. ISBN 978-1-85918-380-9.
  14. "Council urged to expand painting grant initiative". 6 January 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  15. "Painting and Facade Scheme | Cork City Centre". Cork City Centre. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  16. "Raft of changes urged to reinvigorate historic Cork street". Irish Examiner. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  17. "North Main Street Planning Study" (PDF). UCC Centre for Planning Education & Research. 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  18. "City Hall hits back at Smiddy saying his criticisms are not credible". Evening Echo. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
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