Development plan · Kilkenny County Council
Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021–2027 — Volume 2
A further volume of the council's development plan.
Kilkenny County Council · 2021–2027 · 135 pages
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- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 53 the 19th century brewing industry in the St. Francis Abbey Brewery. The 13th century St. Francis Abbey is located south of, and proximate to the River Breagagh on the former Brewery site. This structure has survived substantially intact in spite of its location in the centre of a working brewery site for many years. The former Brewery site, now named the Abbey Quarter, is undergoing development. Statement of character The City Centre ACA is characterised by its evolution during the medieval period as Hightown, containing the residences of the merchant princes, the custom house/Tholsel, the market cross and later the courthouse. Much of the medieval street pattern survives with the main streets running along a north south central spine, having narrow slips unique to Kilkenny running downhill off the main street to the east and having long burgage plots running east-west to the rear of the properties on High Street and Parliament Street. The area today is characterised by a sizeable collection of landmark medieval and 18th century buildings set in an 18th and 19th century commercial streetscape of two and three-storey rendered facades with classically proportioned wall to window ratios and many surviving early shop and pub fronts to ground floor. In the north-east corner of the area, once stood a significant element of Kilkenny’s 19th century industrial heritage in the form of the St. Francis Abbey Brewery. ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character. • CCACA 1: Assessment of proposals for the presentation of commercial premises will require retention of genuine early/original shopfronts/pubfronts, and the provision of high-quality contemporary design when new shopfronts/commercial fronts are proposed, • CCACA 2: To maintain high standard of presentation of ground and upper floors by controlling the size, number and composition of advertisements on buildings to prevent and reduce visual clutter in the ACA. Plastic or neon signage will not be considered in the ACA. • CCACA 3: To protect the remaining surviving medieval street pattern and tight urban grain, particularly the burgage plots to the rear of High St. and Parliament St. limiting large scale developments which may necessitate assimilation of smaller historic building plots and retention of the existing scale of three and four storey buildings. • CCACA 4: To improve the visual appearance of the car parking area at the Market Yard and to ensure a high standard of architectural design for any development at Bateman Quay. • CCACA 5: To promote the use of natural slate on buildings in the ACA. Kilkenny Castle ACA Description and historical background The Kilkenny Castle ACA comprises three main components – the Castle and its grounds, the public open space known as the Parade linking the castle with High Street, and the residential areas immediately adjacent to the boundary walls of the Castle Park. See Figure HS7. The Castle is an impressive National Monument, not only due to its size and scale, but also its elevated location and its relationship to The Parade, the city’s most prominent civic space. The Castle itself is located in the spacious setting of the Castle Gardens and parkland, which cover an area of over 50
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- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 54 acres. This ACA also includes the mill race buildings located on the Castle Grounds adjacent to the River Nore, and sections of the medieval Kilkenny City Walls (Hightown Circuit). The Parade is an impressive urban space which stretches from the Castle Grounds to High Street. It is graced by the 18th century grand four-storey over basement red brick Georgian terraces. The 18th century also saw the introduction of the castle stable yard as an architectural set piece reflecting the classicisation of the south entrance to the Castle. The former bank building, an impressive stone structure, on the corner of the Parade represents the rise of the banks as an institution in the middle of the 19th century. The Parade today remains an impressive piece of urban design. On the north side of the Parade is the Mayor’s Walk flanked on one side by the Rose Garden Wall and on the other by a row of trees planted in the 20th century. There are two formal 18th century cut-stone and wrought-ironwork gateway entrances to the Mayor’s Walk, one at the Rose Inn Street end and the other at the Castle end. These are works of considerable elegance and architectural significance and make a strong contribution to the character of the area. The grounds of the castle are an important green space within the city providing a valuable amenity to the city dwellers and visitors alike, linking open parkland with a walk along the River Nore. The castle grounds provide a setting which showcases the castle buildings and their inclusion in the ACA is vital for the protection of the setting of one of Kilkenny’s most visited landmarks. Also, within the grounds of the Castle and an important element of the industrial architectural heritage of the city are the mill race buildings adjacent to the river and dating to the first half of the 18th century, possibly incorporating fabric of a pre-1650 mill complex, has its origins in a mill established here in the 13th century. The Canal walk contributes significantly to the setting of the Castle, and is a popular area for walkers and tourists. The retaining random rubble boundary walls of the castle grounds which flank the south side of the Canal Walk make a strong contribution to the character of the ACA. The detached dwellings dating from the 1950s and 1960s are not of any architectural merit in their own right but their inclusion in the ACA represents a buffer zone for the castle grounds. The Switzer’s Almshouses on the Castle Road consists of a terrace of five two-storey three bay houses with a pediment over the central house. It is a group of significant architectural importance dating to 1803 and built by James Switzer, building contractor at the Kilkenny City Military Barracks. An important element of the complex is the impressive classical rubble and cut-stone gateway. Statement of Character Kilkenny Castle ACA is characterised by the medieval Castle and its parkland setting and mill buildings, the random rubble limestone boundary walls which surround its grounds, and the Parade with its Georgian residential terrace and 18th century promenade (The Mayor’s Walk), The Canal Walk, Switzer’s Asylum and the Castle Gardens residential area. Much of the character of the area is public open space with significant landmark buildings including the Castle, its mill buildings, a red brick
- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 55 Georgian terrace and promenade, the castle stable yard, Switzer’s almshouses and extensive lengths of limestone boundary walls. There is a mix of uses, public amenity, residential and commercial. It is important that the commercial uses on the Parade do not detract from the character of their setting. ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character. • KCACA 1: To protect the historic and architectural character of the Castle and its unique setting. To request visual assessment for developments which may potentially impact on the vitas of the Castle from the surrounding areas. • KCACA 2: To protect the natural amenity of the Castle Park as an important recreational area and wildlife habitat. • KCACA 3: To protect and consolidate the structures of the Ormonde Mill and to protect their setting on the banks of the River Nore. • KCACA 4: To maintain high standard of presentation of ground and upper floors by controlling the size, number and composition of advertisements on buildings to prevent and reduce visual clutter in the ACA. Plastic or neon signage will not be considered in the ACA. • KCACA 5: To ensure appropriate uses for the buildings on the Parade which will not detract from the character of the area, while also ensuring such uses adhere to DCHG’s Architectural Heritage Guidelines for Planning Authorities. • KCACA 6: To protect and retain the historic integrity of the city walls in accordance with the City Walls conservation plan. • KCACA 7: To protect the special low-density residential character of the Castle Gardens residential area. • KCACA 8: To ensure the conservation of the boundary walls surrounding the castle grounds on all sides. St. Canice’s ACA Description and historical background St. Canice’s Cathedral, which gives its name to the city (Cill Chainnigh, Church of Canice), is the central landmark in this area which encompasses an area running from Butt’s Green in the west to the River Nore in the east and bounded to the north by a line running from the Freshford Road west to Granges Road (See Figure HS8). The area is known as Irishtown and was historically always separated from Hightown by the River Breagagh, which was prone to flash flooding at certain times of the year, forming a natural boundary between the two. The 13th Century St. Canice’s is still surrounded by the remnants of its close, including the 11th century round tower, the Bishop’s Palace, The Deanery, St. Canice’s library, almshouses and St. Canice’s steps. It is a complex of buildings of enormous significance architecturally, historically and culturally to the city. The area is characterised by narrow lanes and streets which surround the base of the mound on which the cathedral was built – Dean Street, St. Canice’s Place, Vicar Street and Troy’s Lane. The area also includes sections of the medieval Kilkenny City Walls (Irishtown Circuit). St. Canice’s Catholic Church is another major landmark in the area, occupying a visually prominent position on another of the five hills of Kilkenny, terminating the vista westwards along Dean Street. It
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- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 56 was built in 1824-47 in the Gothic style by Rev. Jacob Gorman. The scale and the fine detailing throughout represent a quality rarely seen in churches predating Catholic Emancipation (1829), thereby indicating the religious tolerance in Kilkenny together with the relative prosperity of the local congregation. The area is traversed by a number of small laneways enclosed by high stone walls. There is a predominantly residential character to the area with some institutional buildings and a small number of shops along Dean Street. In the south eastern part of the ACA, Saint Francis’ Bridge, provides the newest crossing over the River Nore. The remains of the Bull Inn, a 17th century medieval tavern which originally faced onto Saint Canice’s Place, is located near the Bridge (RMP ref KK019-026107). Green Street which runs east off Vicar Street towards Greens Bridge is an area of mixed uses with some vacant commercial buildings which have potential for renovation and re-use. Statement of Character This is the area which gives its name to the city of Kilkenny. It is characterised by its separateness from the medieval Hightown – being located outside the walls and known as Irishtown - and is dominated by the Church of Ireland Cathedral, St. Canice’s, the current structure an impressive gothic structure dating to the 13th century. This church is surrounded by a complex of associated buildings of great architectural and historical importance to the city. Its attendant buildings are located on a hill, the streets and laneways that surround it and which criss-cross it being another significant feature which contributes to the character of the area. To the east of this complex is the area close to the river which includes the northern part of the 19th century brewery site, the River Breagagh separates it from the main part of the now Abbey Quarter. To the west of the Protestant Cathedral is St. Canice’s Catholic Church, an 1820s church in the gothic style with fine detailing, and a visually prominent landmark on the approach roads into the city. Surrounding these landmark buildings, the area is predominantly residential in character. ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character. • SCACA 1: To protect the historic and architectural character of St. Canice’s Cathedral and its unique setting and to protect the grouping of the Cathedral, Library, Deanery, and other buildings associated with the administration of the Cathedral. Collectively, these sites have a large zone of visual influence, therefore, all development proposals proximate to these buildings will require visual assessments. Developments which detract from the ACA will not be permitted. • SCACA 2: To protect and retain the historic integrity of the city walls, in accordance with the Kilkenny City Walls Conservation Plan. • SCACA 3: To encourage and facilitate the sustainable adaptation and appropriate re-use of any derelict and under-utilised buildings on Green Street. • SCACA 4: To ensure any buildings proposed on either side of Saint Canice’s Place, leading to Saint Francis’ Bridge will not detract from the special character of the area, with all massing, scale and urban finish of new development respecting the historic built environment.
- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 57 • SCACA 5: To ensure that development proposed between the River Breagagh and Saint Canice’s Place respects the remains of the Bull Inn Tavern and other historic built environment in the vicinity. Such development should not detract visually from St. Francis’ Abbey. John Street ACA Description and historical background On the east bank of the River Nore, and linked with the Hightown by John’s Bridge, was the suburb of St. John’s which occupied a roughly quadrangular area located around the axis of John St., see Figure HS9. The area was surrounded by the St. John’s Circuit of medieval city wall of which some sections remain, and was dominated by the Augustinian Priory of St. John the Evangelist, the substantial above ground remains survive as a romantic ruin which contributes significantly to the character of the area. These ruins wrap around the Board of First Fruits Church of St. John (1817) providing a dramatic backdrop to the later church. The Greek Revival detailed cut limestone Evans Almshouses, to a design by William Robertson, adjacent to the Abbey are a significant landmark and, until recently have been concealed in the backlands of the area. Following extensive conservation and refurbishment by the Council, Evans Almshouse now operates as the Butler Gallery. John Street is essentially 19th century in character with two and three-storey rendered buildings with commercial units to ground floor. The County Hall and its classical gateway onto John Street are a strong contribution from the eighteenth century and the Carnegie Library is a significant bijoux structure dating to the early twentieth-century and adding to the character of the riverside frontage of the area. St. John’s Catholic Church is a major landmark on the Dublin Road, built 1900-1910 to designs by William Hague; it is an imposing Gothic Revival structure. The graveyard further along this road is of great archaeological significance containing markers spanning several centuries and being associated with a 14th century leper hospital and a 17th century Catholic Church. The remains of the tower house on Maudlin Street known as Magdalen Castle (post 1500) is associated with the leper hospital which had a long connection with St. John’s Priory (lepers were traditionally associated with St. Mary Magdalen - corrupted to Maudlin). Statement of Character The area is predominantly 19th century commercial in character along John Street and residential along Maudlin Street, John’s Quay and the Dublin Road. The landmark structures of the area are either well set back off the road or hidden in backland areas with significant medieval structures remaining in St. John’s Priory and Magdalen Castle. An early 19th century Board of First Fruits church with the fine medieval ruins of St. John’s Priory as a backdrop contributes to the character of John St., while the late 18th and early 19th centuries are well represented in the Evans Almshouse structure to the rear of St. John’s Priory, and in the classical former Kilkenny College, now County Hall. The massive Gothic Revival Catholic church on the Dublin Road and the bijoux Carnegie Library on John’s Quay are important contributions of the early twentieth century. The buildings on John’s Quay, when viewed from the western bank of the River Nore, provide an attractive foreground to the new Butler Gallery, while John’s Bridge, which dates to 1910, is a
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- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 58 testament to technical advances in civil engineer in the early 20th century, being one of the earliest concrete bridges in the country. Adjacent to John’s Bridge, is the impressive Georgian structure known as the Bridge House, with its classical style doorcase and proportions, and later bowed front, adding significantly to the pleasing aesthetic of the ACA and River Nore. ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character. • JSACA 1: To maintain high standard of presentation of ground and upper floors by controlling the size, number and composition of advertisements on buildings to prevent and reduce visual clutter in the ACA. Plastic or neon signage will not be considered in the ACA. • JSACA 2: Assessment of proposals for the presentation of commercial premises will require retention of genuine early/original shopfronts/pub fronts, the provision of high-quality contemporary design when new shopfronts/commercial fronts are proposed. • JSACA 3: Where windows on upper floors of commercial premises have been replaced with uPVC or aluminium in the past there will be a requirement that these be replaced by appropriate timber windows where planning permission of any sort is being sought for the structure. • JSACA 4: To protect historic plot sizes along John St. Upper and Lower and to avoid amalgamation of sites for new buildings. • JSACA 5: To protect and retain the historic integrity of the city walls, in accordance with the Kilkenny City Walls Conservation Plan. • JSACA 6: To ensure any new developments to the south of Maudlin St. are sensitive in scale to the surrounding buildings and that any future re-development of the former petrol station and adjoining sites on the Dublin Road is sensitive in scale to the surrounding buildings. • JSACA 7: To promote the conservation of the front garden areas and railings to the houses of St. John’s Place on the Dublin Road and to ensure that proposals for accommodating residential parking which impact on these will not be permitted. • JSACA 8: To consider the balance of uses on John St. when dealing with change of use applications. • JSACA 9: To ensure there is no large-scale development which interrupts the visual pleasing skyline of the city from Dublin Road looking north west. • JSACA 10: To ensure there is no large-scale development which interrupts the visual pleasing streetscape of John’s Quay Patrick Street ACA Description and historical background St Patrick’s graveyard, immediately to the south of the medieval town, marks the site of the earliest Christian foundation in Kilkenny, even pre-dating the Church of Canice at the opposite end of the town. In the neighbourhood of St. Patrick’s Church and stretching along Patrick St. was the borough of Donaghmore, first referred to in c.1245. It had its own marketplace and market cross, probably located at the junction of New Street and Patrick Street and references to St. Patrick’s outer gate suggest that the settlement was enclosed. Nothing survives of the medieval St. Patrick’s Church but
- Heritage Strategy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 2 59 the fine series of thirteenth and fourteenth-century tomb slabs preserved in the graveyard suggests it was richly patronised. See Figure HS10 for the boundaries of this ACA. Patrick St. is now essentially a street of eighteenth and nineteenth-century two and three-storey houses, a mix of residential and commercial leading from the Parade to the Waterford Road through the former St. Patrick’s Gate. The curve of the street provides a pleasant sweep into the city when entering from the south. Sections of the medieval city wall (Hightown Circuit) survive along Ormonde Road, most notably Talbot’s Tower, which has been conserved and is now publicly accessible. Coláiste Pobail Osraí, or Ormonde College, a Jacobean Revival model school built 1853 makes a significant contribution to this streetscape as does the former Presbyterian Church, built to designs by Charles Anderson and dating to the 1840s. Religious and educational institutions dominate the western part of this area including St. Kieran’s College, an impressive large-scale college in a picturesque Tudor Revival style, built c.1840 and rated of National importance by the NIAH; St. Camillus’s Convent (1885-90) and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in the Gothic Revival style dating to the last decade of the nineteenth century form a dramatic landmark on a prominent corner site. All these sites are accessed from the College Road, a wide treelined avenue. Statement of Character Patrick Street is a mixed residential and commercial street with many good quality classical buildings. It leads from The Parade Junction to the Waterford Road, through the former St. Patrick’s Gate. Religious and educational institutions dominate the western section of this area. The grounds of St. Kieran’s College, the John of God Convent and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church are each impressive buildings in their own rights. Each of these is accessed from the College Road, which is a wide treelined avenue. The area also includes sections of the medieval Kilkenny City Walls (Hightown Circuit). ACA Development Management Requirements based on assessment of special character. • PSACA 1: To protect the setting of the area’s many landmark buildings including the great nineteenth-century ecclesiastical and educational buildings such as St. Patrick’s Church, St. Kieran’s College, Ormonde College, and the former Presbyterian Church. • PSACA 2: To enhance the character of Ormonde Road and College Road as an approach to the city centre, and respect building lines. • PSACA 3: To protect and retain the historic integrity of the city walls in accordance with the Kilkenny City Walls Conservation Plan (Heritage Council, 2005), particularly the impressive survivor of the medieval Hightown Circuit - Talbot’s Tower. • PSACA 4: To ensure any future developments along Jacob St. adhere to a formal building line and are predominantly residential in nature. • PSACA 5: To protect the visual relationship between Butler House, Kilkenny Design Centre and Kilkenny Castle.
Source Kilkenny County Council: Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021–2027 — Volume 2 (2021–2027) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.