Waterford City Ireland

Waterford is a gentle city of Georgian doorways and back streets with names like Lady Lane. It stretches for a it more than half a mile along the southern bank of the river Suir, well up a long inlet from the sea, and during the 17th century its harbor was one of the busiest in the country. Meat, fish, and corn were exported to the Continent, and wine came back. Ships bound for America were provisioned here. Today, one of the principal exports from its stillbusy quays is beef, though Waterford crystal is its most famous export.

The history of Waterford City Ireland

The old Waterford Glass Factory was founded in 1783, at a time when the city originally a Viking settlement was undergoing a burst of development and beginning to outgrow its medieval dimensions. Graceful Georgian homes belonging to the merchant class began to appear along the Mall, and John Roberts, an architect responsible for many of the city's elegant structures, was at work designing the public buildings and churches that are among the city's most prominent landmarks City Hall and the Catholic and Protestant cathedrals are all his.

The latter, which was erected between 1773 and 1779 on the site of a much earlier church, is a stately testimony to Waterford's rich Protestant families, some of whom were carried up the slight incline into Cathedral Square in sedan chairs.

Waterford's most famous landmark, however, is a remnant of Viking times. Sitric the Dane is credited with fortifying the site of the city in the ninth century, and Reginald the Dane, a descendant of Sitric, is believed to have strengthened the fortifications in 1003 by erecting what has since become known as Reginald's Tower.

Along with the city walls and two other towers, Reginald's Tower protected the city from invasion first by the Celts and later, when the Norsemen and Celts put aside their differences to join forces against a common enemy, from invasion by the Normans. You can still see part of the old city wall inside the Reginald Lounge, adjacent to the tower.

The Normans finally did take Waterford in 1170, in the person of Richard de Clare, an emissary of Henry II of England. De Clare was better known as Strongbow, for the sureness of his weapons and tactics, and his victory over the city's defenders was both an easy and a far reaching one.

The capture of Waterford was the beginning of the AngloNorman domination of Ireland. Strongbow's marriage shortly thereafter to Eva, the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, the Irish King of Leinster, consolidated the position of the Conquering Normans. This fateful event, too, took place in Waterford, reputedly in Reginald's Tower (though the original Viking cathedral, predecessor of Christ Church Cathedral, may have been the actual site).

King John granted the city its first charter in 1205 (his sword and several of the city's subsequent charters are in the Reginald's Tower museum), and in several centuries to come Waterford would be intensely loyal to the English Crown.

Henry VII gave it its motto, Unconquered City, in the 15th century, in gratitude for its successful efforts in fighting off attacks by two pretenders to his throne. But loyalty to the English king in temporal matters did not extend to recognition of the Crown's supremacy in religious matters.

The city remained Catholic in the 16th century, and because of this, its charter was eventually withdrawn and its Catholic citizens suffered much in the Cromwellian sieges of the mid 17th century. Their churches were closed and confiscated and many Catholics were sent as slaves to the West Indies.

Several abbeys flourished ih Waterford. The ruins of the once extensive 13th century Dominican friary can be seen. Another large abbey, the Holy Ghost Friary of the Franciscans, or, as it is known locally, the French Church, was built a little later in the same century and is also now in ruins. Both were suppressed by Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Franciscan friary to become a hospital and then a home to a colony of French Huguenot refugees.

Most visitors come to Waterford to tour the glass factory and concentrate on the gift shops around the quays. But there are revealing detours from the beaten path, such as a walk out to Ballybricken Green, one of the oldest sections. When the Normans controlled Waterford proper, this is where the Irish lived, outside the Patrick Street gate of the city walls.

And the side streets and back lanes of this city of 50,000 people are worth discovering for their quaint houses, historic churches, and unexpected finds such as the ancient carvings on the friary wall in Lady Lane. Not much of the great abbeys may remain, but in these narrow passageways, Waterford's medieval atmosphere seems trapped forever like snow in a glass paperweight.

Waterford Glass Factory Ireland

Waterford Glass Factory It is said that thousands of people a week visit the Waterford Glass Factory to watch Ireland's most famous crystal being mixed, blown, and cut by hand from the raw ingredients of silica sand, potash, and red lead. Not only are the guided tours free, they are also interesting and enjoyable.

The original plant opened in 1783 and continued operating until 1851, when English law imposed heavy duties on the exported glass and made the operation unprofitable. With the help of the Irish government, Waterford reopened on a small scale in 1947 and has since outgrown its buildings several times.

A Waterford chandelier hangs in Independence Hall in Philadelphia and 16 of them are in Westminster Abbey.Chamber of Commerce Architect John Roberts designed this aristocratic building in 1795 as a home for the Morris family, which was prominent in the shipping trade. The house was purchased by the Chamber of Commerce in 1815.

A large fanlight graces the entrance, and it is worth a look inside to see the beautiful plasterwork and splendid oval staircase.Clock Tower Waterford - Nineteenth century sea captains relied on this landmark along the quays to keep their ships on schedule. It once had troughs of water at its base from which horses could drink, and was thus known as the Fountain Clock. Built in 1861, the original clock was replaced in 1954. The Quay. Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity After the confiscation of their churches in the mid17th century, the Catholics of Waterford did not receive permission from the city's Protestant controlled government to build another until 1792.

Architect John Roberts designed it for them and it was completed in 1796. The cathedral has a beautifully carved oak pulpit. Barronstrand St.

Lady Lane This little passage has been described as the best surviving example of a medieval street in Waterford. It is a charming lane with Georgian doorways on one side and two old stone carvings (one dated 1613) visible on the wall of the Franciscan friary on the other side. On Broad St., off Upper Barronstrand St.

Christ Church Cathedral Waterford - John Roberts also designed this Protestant church, which was completed in 1779 on the site of an earlier church erected by the Norsemen in 1050. The Norsemen had made Waterford a diocese of its own, and the old church grew in size and property through several centuries until Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Later, Cromwellian troops occupied the original church for a time.

The present cathedral incorporates some monuments from the old church and a number of interesting tombs. Cathedral Sq.French Church Founded as a Franciscan abbey in 1240, this once included six chambers, a kitchen with four cellars, and stables, in addition to the church whose ruined nave, choir, and Lady Chapel still remain.

After it was dissolved by Henry VIII, the friary saw use as a hospital, a burial place for some of Waterford's prominent families, and a parish church for French Huguenot refugees. Architect Roberts is among those buried here. Obtain the key to visit the church from the house across the road; a notice on the door gives the address. Bailey's New St.

Reginald's Tower Waterford -This 70-foot stone tower on the quays was built for defense by Reginald the Dane in 1003. It was captured by Strong bow in 1170, and has been used as a mint, a military storehouse, and an air raid shelter. It now houses a historical museum containing the city's original charters, swords, and municipal munitions.

Corner of the Quay and the Mall. Father Luke Wadding and the Mall This statue just across the street from Reginald's Tower commemorates the birth in 1588 of one of Waterford's most distinguished sons. The Franciscan scholar was famous as a linguist and author of the annals of his order, and although he spent most of his life in Rome, he helped his Catholic countrymen both morally and financially in their attempts to establish their own constitution and government. The Tower hotel on the left is on the site of the old bowling green.

City Hall Waterford was completed in 1788 for the merchants of Waterford, now houses a museum (see Museums) and the Theatre Royal as well as administrative offices. Behind City Hall is the Bishop's Palace, designed in 1741 by Richard Castle, who also designed Powerscourt, Westport House, and the Irish Parliament and the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. It now is used by the city engineering staff.

Places to go in Waterford

The Waterford International Festival of Light Opera has been taking place every September for over 20 years. For 2 weeks, amateur companies from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic compete to give the best performance of an operetta or musical, and visitors to Waterford have a chance to see and hear again such popular productions as The Merry Widow, Oliver, Soulh Pacific, and the like.

Fringe events include a ball, band concerts, bridge tour name,lts, sports competitions, and singing competitions in the pubs, which, as usual during a festival in Ireland, are open late. Tickets are reasonably priced and can be obtained along with specific information on programs and dates from Sean Dower, Secretary of the Waterford Festival, New St., Waterford.