North Great George's Street is a street on the Northside of Dublin city first laid out in 1766 which connects Parnell Street with Great Denmark Street. It consists of opposing terraces of 4 storey over basement red-brick Georgian townhouses descending on an increasingly steep gradient from Belvedere House which bookends the street from a perpendicular aspect to the North. All of the original houses on the street as well as several other features are listed on the Record of Protected Structures.
Name
There is some speculation over which George the street is named after however it is likely King George III who was reigning monarch at the time of the street's construction. The nearby Church of Ireland parish of St. George and both the earlier Old Church of St George on Hill Street and the newer church of St George at Hardwicke Place are within a short walk of the street and may have influenced the naming convention. The street was originally simply named George's Street prior to the laying out of South Great George's Street.
History
The street is situated on the grounds of the old Mount Eccles estate which had formed part of the extensive private estate of Sir John Eccles, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1710. The street was laid out for development by Nicholas Archdall after Royal Assent was given on the 7th of June 1766 for long leases to be granted for the purposes of building and the directional layout still follows the route of the old driveway to Eccles House. The street is similar in design and width to Henrietta Street and maintains many of its original features including granite paving, cast iron ornate coal holes and boot scrapers, cast iron ornate railings and grilles, original doors and ornately fenestrated fanlights, granite steps and granite stone faced basements, wooden sash windows and the original facades of most buildings. Other features which were added during later periods have now become part of the historic fabric of the street including granite faced first floors, Victorian cast iron balconettes, cast iron lampposts from various different periods and various creeping plants which extend over the front of several buildings and change colour with the turning of the seasons. As with many Georgian townhouses of the period the external appearance is subdued with plain red-brick facades however this often contrasts with elaborately decorated interiors with stuccoed walls and ceilings and ornate marble and Portland stone floor surfaces and carved wooden staircases.
Residents
The street was originally built for the landed gentry and merchant families as a pied-a-terre and the largest house on the street, No. 43 was actually built from 1786 by the Rt. Hon Henry Theophilus Clements son of Nathaniel Clements who had developed Henrietta Street. A number of hereditary peers also had properties on the street in the mid-18th century. Other notable residents of the street have included;
