Survey Data
Reg No
50910299
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Cultural, Technical
Previous Name
Hely's Printing Works
Original Use
Print works
Date
1905 - 1910
Coordinates
315721, 234001
Date Recorded
25/10/2015
Date Updated
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Description
Attached three-bay three-storey commercial building, built c. 1906. Truncated pyramidal-form roof with slate to sloping sides, and rectangular profile rainwater goods. Red brick walling to front elevation, registering as rusticated piers above ground floor sill level, with granite plinth, granite impost banding, granite fascia to ground floor with moulded cornice forming sill course to first floor openings, granite lintel courses to upper floors, and granite sill course to top floor. Square-headed window openings with bull's nose moulding to brick jambs and to imposts and lintels, with timber casement windows, and having sloping flush granite sills to ground floor openings. Former door opening to west end now closed up.
Appraisal
This building forms part of an interesting group of commercial buildings erected on Dame Court and Dame Lane at the turn of the twentieth century, giving these streets a distinct architectural character. The structure uses the Hennebique system of reinforced concrete and is reputedly the earliest such example in Dublin. Its detailing is similar to that of a building on Dame Court, comprising a combination of red brick and granite and relatively large casement windows. The moulded detail to the cornice and window surrounds adds visual interest. The building is also significant for forming part of the well-known Hely Printing Works. The fictional hero of James Joyce's Ulysses, Leopold Bloom worked there.