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Lismore Courthouse

Lismore Courthouse
Lismore Courthouse
Lismore Courthouse is located in Ireland
Lismore Courthouse
Lismore Courthouse
Location within Ireland
General information
Architectural styleNeoclassical style
AddressMain Street, Lismore
CountryIreland
Coordinates52°08′13″N 7°55′57″W / 52.1370°N 7.9325°W / 52.1370; -7.9325
Completed1815
Design and construction
Architect(s)John Carr

Lismore Courthouse, also referred to as Lismore Town Hall,[1][2][3] is a former judicial and municipal building in Main Street in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. It is currently used as a heritage centre and tourist information centre.

History

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The building was commissioned by the local landowner, William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, whose seat was at Lismore Castle.[4] It was designed by John Carr in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in around 1815.[5]

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto Main Street. The central bay, which was slightly projected forward, featured a porch formed by Doric order columns supporting an entablature and cornice on the ground floor, and a tall round headed window on the first floor, all surmounted by a pediment. The outer bays were fenestrated by sash windows on both floors. There was originally a central cupola behind the pediment. Internally, the principal rooms were a market hall on the ground floor and a courtroom on the first floor.[6]

Following the adoption of the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act 1854 in 1855,[7] the newly appointed town commissioners and magistrates used the courtroom for their board meetings and petty sessions respectively on alternating Saturdays.[8] It thereby started to serve as the local town hall as well as the courthouse.[9] The building was refurbished in 1890, when the cupola was replaced by a square clock tower with wide eaves and a shallow pyramid-shaped roof.[4] By the early 20th century, it was covered in neatly-clipped ivy.[10]

The building was badly burned in rioting on 8 June 1920 during the Irish War of Independence, but was fully restored in 1924.[11] The courtroom on the first floor was subsequently used as a community events venue hosting dances and other functions.[12][13] The Courts Service ceased using the building as a courthouse in 1985.[14]

Following completion of an extensive programme of refurbishment works, the building was re-opened by the chairman of Bord Fáilte, Martin Dully, as the Lismore Heritage Centre in May 1992.[15] The courtroom was refurbished to a design by Shaffey Architects and brought back into use as a district court in 2006, but the Courts Service announced in February 2022 that, after hearings had been relocated to Dungarvan, the courtroom would close again for judicial use.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "County Waterford Main Towns". Enjoy Ireland. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Lismore Heritage Centre". Your Local. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Lismore Heritage" (PDF). Dungarvan Leader. 22 May 1992. p. 13. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Lismore Courthouse, West Street, Chapel Street, Lismore, County Waterford". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ^ Wragg, Brian (2000). The life and works of John Carr of York. Oblong. p. 175. ISBN 978-0953657421.
  6. ^ "1799: Court House, Lismore, County Waterford". Archiseek. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Municipal Boundaries Commission (Ireland). Part III. Report and Evidence". House of Commons. 30 December 1878. p. 58.
  8. ^ Reports from Commissioners. Vol. 34. House of Commons. 1866. p. 424.
  9. ^ "Court House, Lismore". Waterford Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Lismore Courthouse". National Archives of Ireland. 1900. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Lismore Castle Papers" (PDF). Waterford County Council. p. 234. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Grand Variety Concert and Question Time will be held at Lismore Town Hall" (PDF). Dungarvan Leader. 2 January 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Courthouse, Limore". Irish Showbands. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Lismore Courthouse". Shaffey Architects. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Bord Failte's Chief Opens Lismore's Heritage Centre" (PDF). Dungarvan Leader. 22 May 1992. p. 1. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Loss of court sitting in Lismore will have financial implications for the town". WLR FM. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2024.