Tag Archives: Charles Wye Williams

The Rideau Canal

Posted on Wednesday 26 December 2012 | Leave a comment

The Cedar Lounge Revolution has an article about those who worked on the construction of the Rideau Canal in Canada in the 1820s and 1830s. Readers will, of course, recall that Charles Wye Williams compared the Rideau and the Shannon in his 1835 […] speech on the improvement of the Shannon: being in continuation of the debate in the House of Commons, 12th May, 1835, giving a comparative view of the navigation of the Rideau Canal, in Canada, and the River Shannon in Ireland, with observations on the value of a connection by steam packets, with British America.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, waterways, Waterways management

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Theatre steam

Posted on Wednesday 26 September 2012 | 4 comments

The Abbey Theatre has announced that it has bought Nos 15–17 Eden Quay, Dublin 1. No 15 was the address of the main offices of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.

From the Dublin Almanac of 1845

The company crest is said to be still on the wall. Abbey Street Old seems to run between the two premises; no doubt there will be some means of avoiding any problem.

I wish the Abbey Theatre well in its extension, but I hope it will find some way of honouring the memory of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company and of the underrecognised Charles Wye Williams.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways

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Bring back the Black

Posted on Friday 17 August 2012 | Leave a comment

The Black Bridge at Plassey has been closed since the floods of November 2009. Its reopening seems to have a low priority; I suspect that is because the importance of the bridge in Ireland’s technological, economic, entrepreneurial and political history is not widely appreciated. Here is a page explaining some of the background and suggesting a context within which reopening might be justifiable.

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Posted in Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management, Weather

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Royal Canal steamers

Posted on Monday 12 December 2011 | Leave a comment

According to Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary (1837),

The principal trade is in wool, for which this is the greatest mart in the county, its central situation and facility of communication with the Shannon and with Dublin having rendered it the commercial centre of a wide extent of country. The City of Dublin Steam Company commenced operations here in 1830: a steamer plies twice a week between this town and Shannon Harbour, where it meets the Limerick steamer and Grand Canal boat for Dublin.

It is interesting that the steamer went west and south (37 miles, 21 locks to the Shannon, then river, lake and river to Shannon Harbour), rather than directly eastward (52 miles, 25 locks) to Dublin, but its route would have enabled it to serve Longford, Tarmonbarry, Lanesborough and Athlone. Lewis, however, does not mention steamer services at any of those places other than Athlone.

More research required ….

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Posted in Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Shannon, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways

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SS John Randolph

Posted on Saturday 10 December 2011 | Leave a comment

The SS John Randolph, described as “America’s first successful iron ship in commerce”, is commemorated by a historical marker in Savannah, Georgia, USA.

The John Randolph was one of the first six iron vessels built by Lairds of Birkenhead (later merged into Cammell Laird). The other five were built for use on the River Shannon.

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Shannon, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

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Lough Derg 1839

Posted on Sunday 27 November 2011 | Leave a comment

Drawings now uploaded. Much more activity in these than in the Lough Ree equivalents, with steamers towing barges, turf boats, the surveyors’ cutter and other excitements.

 

 

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Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Scenery, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

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Championing waterways heritage

Posted on Thursday 25 August 2011 | Leave a comment

O’Briensbridge, covered here on this site, makes the front page of the Clare Champion this week.

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Posted in Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management

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Garryowen and Dover Castle

Posted on Wednesday 11 May 2011 | Leave a comment

In 1840 the rival steamers Dover Castle and Garryowen competed for traffic on the Shannon Estuary. While I know of no pictures of the steamers (if you know of any, please let me know), we have a reasonable amount of information about their operations. I discuss some aspects of those operations here. For an explanation of the page title, see here, but do not be diverted down this byway.

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Posted in Built heritage, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, People, Scenery, shannon estuary, Sources, Steamers, The cattle trade, The turf trade, Tourism, Water sports activities, Waterways management

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Who took the arch? A Shannon whodunnit

Posted on Wednesday 20 October 2010 | Leave a comment

O’Briensbridge is a village in Co Clare, islanded between the headrace of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric power station and the River Shannon. Up to 1929 the river was the navigation between Limerick and Lough Derg (and eventually Dublin), and the bridge itself was something of an obstacle to navigation.

In 1832 the engineer Thomas Rhodes drew a sketch of the bridge with 14 arches, whereas nowadays it has only 12. We know when the seven arches on the Co Limerick side were reduced to six, but it has not been clear when an arch was removed from the Clare side. I think I know the answer; you can read it here.

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Posted in Ashore, Charles Wye Williams, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Forgotten navigations, Industrial heritage, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, Scenery, Sources, Steamers

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The sector lock at Kilrush

Posted on Friday 19 June 2009 | Leave a comment

I’ve already written about a Shannon lock at Athlone and a Grand Canal lock at Belmont. Now here’s a page about the sector lock leading into Kilrush marina on the Shannon estuary. Sector locks are relatively rare, but sector gates are being installed as flood defences at Spencer Dock, where the Royal Canal meets the River Liffey in Dublin, and are used at Limehouse lock on the Thames in London.

Interestingly, the Kilrush lock and the associated embankment solved problems that were identified by Commander William Mudge RN, Admiralty surveyor, in 1831: he was one of the three members of the Commission for the Improvement of the Navigation of the Shannon, and at that time the Shannon estuary steamers had to use Cappagh pier, outside Kilrush, because at low tide Kilrush had only a small creek running through it.

Nowadays, inland waterways boats going to sea often head for Kilrush, which is also one of the bases from which dolphin-watching trips are provided. There is a resident school of bottlenose dolphins in the estuary.

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Posted in Extant waterways, Irish waterways general, Operations, Steamers

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