On Saturday, I went to see number 10, Henrietta Street as part of the Open House weekend where all sorts of places are thrown open to the public. Number 10 is a beautiful former townhouse which has been a convent since the start of the 20th century. It was restored in 2003 and an architect involved in the restoration gave a fantastic tour.
I have fallen in love with Henrietta Street and want to live there. It is quite beautiful to look at with the King’s Inns forming the end of the street and very large early Georgian houses on either side. The area is very urban and edgy (what some people might call rough and dangerous) and the houses are beautiful, listed, huge and, in many cases derelict. As recently as 1974 they were tenements with 36 families living in one of the houses. Hassett and Fitzsimons has one for sale with the fantastically engaging description “unique refurbishment opportunity”. €1.85 million before you have at all begun your unique refurbishing. When I told Mr. Waffle all this with shining eyes on my return, he started to bang his head against the fridge. I suppose my only hope of moving there is either a) win the lottery or b) become a nun.
During the week my brother brought us up an enormous quantity of apples from my parents’ house in Cork. We took ourselves off to West Wicklow on Sunday morning where a look branch of the slow food movement were making an apple pressing machine available to those with plentiful apple crops. This was terrific. There were lots of children to play together while the grown ups made apple juice. Those attending ranged from bohemian couples with children with unlikely names to elderly protestant ladies. Although we were a bit outside the general demographic, it was great fun and I am contemplating shelling out some of my income to be notified of future events where I will be able to overhear more conversations along the lines of “I knew, just by looking at them that your children had to be homeschooled…” and “Have you met …, she’s a herbalist.” Also the Princess made a friend. They discovered that they were both from Dublin and arranged to meet at the Spire. I knew she had met a soulmate when the new friend said to her father, “Daddy, I am meeting my new friend at the Spire, when would be an appropriate time for us to meet.” [Emphasis added] To her great chagrin, her father replied “In about 6 years.”
For years my cousin and his fiancée had a caretaker flat at the top of one of those houses. I stayed with them one year for a couple of months. The rest of the house was empty with crumbling plaster but their floor was in reasonable repair. Cold of course but this was the early 90s so it was nothing unusual to rely on wooly jumpers, supersers and open fires to keep from freezing. The four flights of stairs were a bit daunting after a late night out.
The street was very popular as a film and tv set and a few years later my cousin awoke one morning to the sound of banging at his front door. When he went down he discovered the filmmakers had improved the authenticity of the shot by boarding up his door. He got them to make a gap so he could go out to the shop and get milk for his breakfast.
Great story Eimear. I hope the Princess meets her new friend – maybe at a more supervised location if not the Spike?
Greta story – can we re-use it?
What happened “under Clery’s Clock” as the meeting venue of choice for all Northside Dubliners (and some brave/copped on Southsiders too)?
Oh Eimear, I am slightly envious. Though, I would imagine even after forking out on the unique renovation opportunity, you might still need a super ser. Mr. Waffle once saw a JCB go through the road and into one of the cellars which may explain the unique bollarding arrangements on the street.
Yes, QoP, must bestir myself.
C, I know, I even heard of it in UCC where we regarded it, of course, as some kind of obscure insult – we Cork people are like that.
I’m sorry, you can’t have that house. I intend to win on the premium bonds and have it myself.
Well, Sarah, there are probably enough derelict houses on the street for both of us…