If Walls Could Talk: Long history of stately home in the city centre

Recently renovated to a high standard and home to much-loved restaurants, the prominent building on the corner of Henry Street and Sarsfield Street was built in 1778 as a sumptuous private residence.

Over the course of its lifetime, it has been a private house, a bank, a library, a restaurant, a community space and a carpet shop.

It is one of the oldest buildings in Newtown Pery, dating to when the city was just a plan on paper. It remains one of the most handsome buildings in Limerick.

John Dowdall Hammond (abt. 1732-1787) was a wealthy attorney and investor in the Shannon Navigation Scheme in 1768.

Clearly a man of means, he built his six-bay three-storey over basement house on a prominent street corner at a time when the river came much closer to the site and nothing obstructed the view from his magnificent new home, particularly from the large bowed window.

The views up and down the river and across to Co. Clare must have been spectacular. From the comfort of his new home, Dowdall Hammond must have borne witness to the economic development of the city that was very much centred on the river.

During this period, the Shannon teamed daily with fully rigged ships resplendent with tall masts and large white sails as they arrived from far flung lands often with cargoes of exotic goods.

John Dowdall Hammond was described as a ‘gent’ in May 1756 when he was sworn in as an attorney of his majesty’s court of exchequer.

He married Arabella Minchin in 1776. They had at least two sons. He enjoyed a successful career in law and acquired much property.

The upper part of the Dowdall Hammond’s Limerick house was originally red brick, while the lower section was probably always rendered.

It must have glistened in the sunshine and been reflected in the crystal waters of the Shannon. Dowdall’s son, William sold the house in 1809 along with several other properties and land in the county.

The sale notice described it as ‘an elegant building in Brunswick (Sarsfield) Street with extensive yards, offices, coach house, stables… held under a lease from Lord Pery, dated 10 June 1767 and subject to a rent of just over £13 per year.

Dowdall Hammond built the house in the most permanent manner, for his own residence, in the year 1778, when timber and building materials were not as expensive and at a cost of £2,300… there is sufficient ground to build several houses adjoining said dwelling house, allowing enough ground for rears of each house.’

Other property sold by William Hammond in 1809 included a ‘house and extensive concerns in Broad Street rented out for £65 per year and in the ownership of the Dowdall Hammond family since 1772.’

Contemporary writers often included references to building projects of city gentlemen in their historical accounts of the city.

For example, writing in 1787, John Ferrar stated that on the ‘south side of Newtown Pery, and offering an unbounded view of the County Limerick, several gentlemen including Lancelot Hill, William Hogg, John Westropp, and John Dowdall Hammond have built excellent houses with suitable offices.’

Hill was a timber merchant, Hogg a hardware merchant, while Westropp was a member of the landed gentry. It is clear that the movers and shakers of eighteenth-century Limerick desired to live in the fashionable Newtown Pery.

Close to the Dowdall Hammond’s main house was a quay, named Hammond’s Quay (1786), and a lane also named after him, thus providing additional confirmation of ownership of the surrounding land.

The lane was first recorded on Colles map of Limerick in 1769. In November 1782, John Dowdall Hammond died suddenly and without leaving a will.

The newspaper report described him as ‘of Limerick, an eminent attorney, and a gentleman of the fairest character who was coming out of his offices on Fishamble Street, Dublin when he suddenly dropped down and instantly expired.’

Following the sale of Dowdall Hammond’s magnificent house in 1809, it was used for a wide variety of purposes. It was acquired by the National Bank of Ireland and opened as their first Limerick branch.

The name of the bank still adorns the entrance to Hook and Ladder from Sarsfield Street. From the 1870s, the Catholic Literary Institute was housed in Dowdall’s former home.

It was purchased from the National Bank for a sum of £600. The announcement in the Limerick Chronicle stated that the house was ‘as large and commodious as three ordinary houses on O’Connell Street; two of the rooms can accommodate 200 persons each.

On the second floor is the reading room and library, and a very large apartment.

Above this floor are six more rooms in two suites, some of them nearly as large as the reading room.’ The monogram of the Catholic Institute is still visible over the entrance door to the section of the building that now houses the Mogul Emperor.

The house next functioned as the offices of the Transport Union, when it was renamed Connolly Hall before being acquired by the nearby Franciscan community, who renamed it the Franciscan Hall and used it as a community space.

In more recent years, it was a carpet shop and currently two popular city restaurants, the Mogul Emperor Indian Restaurant and Hook and Ladder trade from the building.

Dr Paul O’Brien lectures at Mary Immaculate College.