A shot of a suburban scene in an exclusive area of Kingstown, as it was then known, in County Dublin. The beauty of the seascape, the proximity to the city centre and the easy access to the first railway in Ireland all make this area still very desirable. What was it about Crosthwaite Park though that attracted Robert French to take such shots?
Niall McAuley tells us that this part of Dún Laoghaire was developed in the 1860s and 1870s, so it is possible that they were relatively new when this photo was taken.
Sharon.corbet and
Dún Laoghaire Micheál offer some extra information on the namesake developer, John Crosthwaite (1794-1884) who was a local - with
Dún Laoghaire Micheál going so far as to source an
article on the reading of his will. The houses surrounding the park were seemingly home to a number of influential names over the years, so it may be its grandeur, relative newness, or the prestige address that prompted this shot....
Photographer:
Robert French
Collection:
Lawrence Photograph Collection
Date: Catalogue range c.1865-1914
NLI Ref:
L_ROY_05555
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at
catalogue.nli.ie
Info:
Owner:
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Source:
Flickr Commons
Views: 18963
Inverarra
Tennis courts out of season ?
derangedlemur
Nothing on the OSI to suggest it's interesting. maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,724410,727867,11,9
Niall McAuley
Streetview
Niall McAuley
the DIA has a reference to a house to let on Crosthwaite Park in 1862.
sharon.corbet
The Dun Laoghaire local wiki has a little bit of info. Including the developer, John Crosthwaite.
Dún Laoghaire Micheál
From the Annals of Dún Laoghaire - "John Crosthwaite (1794-1884) the developer of Crosthwaite Park was a chairman of Kingstown Town Commissioners, and lived at Crosthwaite Hall, Lower Glenageary Road for some time. Among other things, he built the Royal Victorian Baths at Queens Road. These baths were demolished in the early years of the 20th century to facilitate the widening of the road. He was also responsible for the development of sea baths at Salthill, now long gone. He laid the foundation stone for the Courthouse and Town Hall, designed by John Loftus Robinson. Local residents have included:- Bob Geldorf Joshua Pim John Millington Synge" Sce: localwiki.org/dl/Crosthwaite_Park
Dún Laoghaire Micheál
sharon.corbet
Dublin’s Bourgeois Homes: Building the Victorian Suburbs, 1850-1901 has a section on Crosthwaite Park: (Google Books which may or may not work). The East side at least was built by different local builders, for example, 8, 10 & 12 were designed by Peter Joseph Moran.
sharon.corbet
DLR also has some info on Crosthwaite Park, featuring this image, which they dated to the last decade of the 19th C. They also have various OSI Maps showing the houses.
sam2cents
It does look lovely. Sort of like the Peter Pan family idyll. As far as I know, and maybe things have changed, but just outside the railings of that park is where driver's working in Dun Laoghaire generally park their cars as it's still free.
Dún Laoghaire Micheál
eek! O hope this is not the same builder . .
Dún Laoghaire Micheál
His Will . . .
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
Where is everybody? Not even a dog. The reverse view has a ghost near the lamp post - catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000321505
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Thanks all. Including https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] for the local insight - certainly living up to your Flickr handle today :) Map, tags, text, etc all update :)
O Mac
I'd assume the park was laid out when the terrace was built. The larger Sycamore tree's look to be 20/30 years old which would place the photo from around 1890?