lawrenceroyals

"Court House" or Town Hall ? Or both ?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portadown_Town_Hall

Re the Town Hall -
"... its twin gables have dragon
finials which recall the coat of arms
of the Dukes of Manchester, then the
owners of much of the town. The
architects (T&R Roe of Belfast) were
very up-to-date in choosing the Dutch
artisan - mannerist style popularised by
the English architect Norman Shaw in
the 1880s. ..."

Re the YMI -
"... The cheerfully polychrome brick
building – former Institute (10) dates
from 1883 or earlier. Built mainly in
yellow brick, it has window and door
facings in red brick and ornamental
lines of black brick on the door arches,
chimneys and under the eaves. The
painted cast iron pillars by the main
doors have cast iron capitals which
seem to have been forgotten at first
and hastily added later - upside down!
Perhaps this is why no architect’s name
is recorded. The modern ultra-secure
metal window frames look incongruous
enough among this Victoriana. Its first
use was as a Young Men’s Institute or
club, with a reading room, assembly hall
and so on; it also offered a temporary
home to the public library between 1893
and 1904. Since then the building has
been used in turn by the Methodist
church, the local income tax authorities,
and is now part of the police station... "

From page 8 - www.craigavonhistoricalsociety.org.uk/museum/Portadown_To...

So after 1904 when the Public Library left ?

maps.app.goo.gl/JqYJQK2TzzNPFxcg7?g_st=ic

I wondered why the Salvation Army Citadel looked different compared to current pictures (especially the slightly altered facade).

Lurgan Mail - Saturday 25 November 1939:

Salvation Army Citadel
PORTADOWN STONE-LAYING
The stone-laying ceremony of the new Citadel in Edward Street, Portadown, for the local Salvation Army Corps took place on Saturday,
...
The new hall, to cost £3,460, will replace an old building destroyed by fire in June, 1938. Already £3,080 has been received towards the outlay. The Corps has been established in Portadown since January 18, 1881, almost 59 years.

According to the account of the fire in the Lurgan Mail - Saturday 4 June 1938, it was feared that both the Town Hall and the Young Men's Institute were in great danger, but the Fire Brigade succeed in containing the outbreak. Mr George M'Geown, Town Clerk, rushed to the Town Hall and removed all important documents just in case.

The original citadel was a single-storey wooden structure, with four brick walls, capable of holding 600 people.

All the instruments of the Salvation Army band, bar one, were saved, but an organ, two flags, all songster and band music, as well as hymn books, were destroyed.

"The police, under District-Inspector Kenny and Head-Constable Gosnell rendered valuable assistance in controlling the vast crowds."

Per wikipedia on Duiske Abbey, Graiguenamanagh: An effigy of a 13th-century Norman Knight found in the ruins is installed by the main entrance. He is depicted seizing a sword and is carved with great attention to detail. It is one of the finest medieval effigies in Ireland.

"And we are indebted to Geraldine Carville in her book, Norman Splendour, in which she nails down the identity of the Knight of Duiske Abbey thought by man[y] to be the finest effigy of its kind in Ireland. "The figure of the knight in armour, cross-legged in the manner of a Crusader, armed in transverse banded mail, seizing a sword and which was carved in the 13th century. He is Alan Beg, who gave half of the tithes (taxes) accruing to his huge estate in nearby Ullard in exchange for a burial place in Duiske Abbey." From - www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/64821/Serene-Abb...

GeoHive 25" map link

Seems to be recumbent now, and in considerably worse condition than Mr French/Lawrence's day -

John Hunt, in his two-volume book on Irish Medieval Figure Sculpture (page 171), describes this as the effigy of an unknown knight and dates it to the late 13th / early 14th centuries. He says: "The commemorated man is represented in the sword-grasping attitude, the left hand holding the scabbard, and the right the hilt of the sword. The left leg is crossed over the right. He is armed in transversely-banded mail. The head rests on a double cushion and is protected by a coif, the skull, which is of rounded form, being outlined by a heavier band than those composing the remainder of the headpiece. The neck and shoulder defences are continuous with the mail of the head, also covering the chin, and the face of the opening is rather heart-shaped in outline. The surcoat, which is tighter across the shoulders than those at Kilfane or Cashel, is gathered at the waist by a girdle, and opens down the front over the thigh, falling in folds to the calf of the leg. The hauberk, vented in front, is long, descending to the top of the knee-cap, and the arms and legs are defended by mail in horizontal bands. The feet are missing, and there are no garters shown. The hands are defended by fingered mail gauntlets continuous with the sleeves of the hauberk. The sword has a short, strong, slightly arched cross, and is supported by a broad belt carried diagonally over the hips, secured by a buckle with the chape hanging down in front. The sheath is attached to the belt by a band and a lace, the ends of which hang in a loose knot in front. "The general form of the armour may be compared to that on the monument of Sir Gerard de Insula, of 1260-1270, at Stow Nine Churches, Northants, where this type of surcoat occurs. On that monument, however, the gauntlets are of muffler type and the headpiece is more bulbous. The form of the skull here appears to be that of the Pershore Knight of about 1280. "The same type of gauntlet is shown on Sir Robert de Keyne's monument at Dodford, Northants, of about 1310. The arrangement of the belt and girdle and the attachment of the sword and general sculptural style indicate a date in the last quarter of the thirteenth century or the early in the fourteenth. Fryer has stated that the stone from which the effigy was carved is Kilkenny marble (palaeozoic rock)."

Previously, on nli Flickr:

Niall McAuley I remember that one - golly - three years ago. Trouble is I can't read my own notes. Grrrr @ flickr

" ... In recent weeks the local press covered a fascinating story which has its origins in the tragedy of the Civil War. Anti-Treaty forces under the command of General Liam Lynch apparently drilled holes in the underside of the bridge with the intention of dynamiting the structure to destroy a vital part of the Free State infrastructure by blowing up the main Cork to Dublin road. The plan was abandoned but today those holes are nested in by sand martins, something which is considered unusual as this species of bird normally avoids man-made structures. ... " From - ahundredandfortycharactersisusuallyenough.wordpress.com/2...

This is a cracker of a shot, those creels and the complete absence of traffic! What a difference to todays traffic gridlock!

Last time, we did not do well dating the photo of Fermoy, but I think that cycle shop on the left corner will do it. Off to search street directories...