River Liffey: Millennium Bridge in front & Grattan Bridge behind.

Grattan Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, and joining Capel Street to Parliament Street and the south quays. River Liffey: Millennium Bridge & Grattan Bridge. ... This article is about the city in Ireland. ...

The first bridge on this site was built by Sir Humphrey Jervis as Essex Bridge (named for Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) to join several of Jervis' developments (including Capel Street and Jervis Street) to the opposite side of the river and to Dublin Castle. Essex Bridge was an arched stone structure with 7 piers, and apparently partly constructed from the ruined masonry of nearby St. Mary’s Abbey on the northside. Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex (1631 – July 13, 1683), whose surname is often spelled Capel, was an English statesman. ... Official standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of the Kingdom of Englands (before the Act of Union 1707) or Kingdom of Great Britains (after 1707... Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland was the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. ... Northside may refer to: Northside, an area in Dublin, Ireland Northside, an area in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Northside, a musical group This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

In the 1750's the bridge was rebuilt by George Semple, to correct flood and other structural damage and as one of the first initiatives of the Wide Streets Commission. (During this construction, some original features were removed. EG: A statue of George I on horseback, was moved and is now in the Mansion House garden). The Wide Streets Commission was established by Dublin Corporation in 1757. ... George I (Georg Ludwig von Hannover) (28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) from 23 January 1698, and King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714, until his death. ... The Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and has been since 1715. ...

From 1872, the bridge was further remodelled (on Westminster Bridge in London), being widened and flattened with cast iron supports extended out from the stonework so as to carry pavements on either side of the roadway. The bridge was (and is still) lit by ornate lamp standards also in cast iron. Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, with a glimpse of Westminster Abbey behind the tower of Big Ben. ... St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also alternative names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Cast iron usually refers to grey cast iron, but can mean any of a group of iron_based alloys containing more than 2% carbon (alloys with less carbon are carbon steel by definition). ...

The bridge was reopened as Grattan Bridge in 1874, being named after Henry Grattan MP (1746-1820). Henry Grattan (July 3, 1746 - June 6, 1820) was a member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century. ...

Recent development

In 2003/2004 the Dublin City Council, planned and built what was intended to be a "European-style book market" on Grattan Bridge. The initiative included reconstruction of the bridge deck, with granite paving for the footpaths and a set of benches with wooden seats and toughened glass backs. Dublin Corporation is the former name given to the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin between the twelfth century and 1 January 2002. ...

Several kiosks (prefabricated in Spain) have been built on the bridge, to create "a contemporary version of an inhabited bridge, such as the Ponte Vecchio in Florence". Ponte Vecchio over the Arno, Florence The Ponte Vecchio, literally Old Bridge, is a famous medieval bridge over the Arno, in Florence, Italy, noted for having shops (mainly jewelers) built along it. ... Location within Italy Florence (Italian, Firenze) is a city in the center of Tuscany, in central Italy at 43°46′ N 11°15′ E. The city on the Arno River has a population of around 400,000, plus a suburban population in excess of 200,000. ...

These kiosks are now occupied by an art gallery, a florist and other vendors, but as of 2005 it may be too early to gauge the success of the initiative. An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings and sculpture. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Nomenclature

As is tradition among Dubliners, the name used locally for the bridge will vary from Capel Street Bridge, to Grattan Bridge and the original Essex Bridge. Dubliners audio book cover Dubliners is a collection of short stories by James Joyce, published in 1914. ...

External Links and other sources

• Irish-archtecture.com entry
• "Project history of Dublin’s River Liffey bridges" Bridge Engineering 156 Issue BE4, Phillips & Hamilton
• local history (including views of old Essex bridge)
• Irish Times Article - 13/02/2004 - Liffey kiosks are 'visual vandalism', council told