Purcells Fields

[shanew147]

found it : Re: Doonans of Bray

looks like at least 52 additional houses on the later map


Shane

[dillonking]

Thank you so much all of you! It's wonderful to build up a visual image from the maps and the information. I can imagine my grandmother popping in to the bakery and my grandfather flirting with her! I'm getting really soppy about this - I'm so blonde!

Seriously though I am very grateful.

I wish my mother could have lived just a few years more so I could have told her all about this.

[Pastmagic]

http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/L_CAB_01845

Some very nice old images of Bray Main St.

Nice map work, as always, Shane

[shanew147]

found a small diagram/map from 1903 which shows Purcell's Fields - very rough version below...

The fountain shown in the NLI photo in pastmagic's link is right in front of the town hall.


Shane

[dillonking]

I am delighted with all this as three of my mother's sisters are still alive and I will be able to share all this with them. The photos are lovely too. Was St Paul's a catholic church? When I got the wedding certificate info they do not state which church; it just says the catholic church of Bray as if there were only one. As my grandmother was from Purcells fields and my grandfather Church terrace I was wondering if this would be the most logical place for them to have married! They married in 1916. Is the church still there?

I can't believe how much you have found.

[shanew147]

It would have been the parish church the Holy Redeemer - which is on the same side of the main street as Purcell's Fields.

You can just see it in the NLI photo above...   incorrect - the square town is Christ Church (CofI), see Pastmagics post see later posts for correction to this

It's still the parish church and was originally built in the late 1790s, and renovated extensively in 1898

The parish priest in 1914 was Patrick Colohan and the curates were John C. Healy, Joseph Kelly & John McGuirke



Shane

[Pastmagic]

No St Paul's is Church of Ireland. The Church they were likely married in, if she was born and lived in  Bray parish, was Holy Redeemer. Both these churches are a three minute walk from Purcell's Field on the map Shane just posted.  Built in 1852, Holy redeemer got an unfortunate face lift, but some of the interior remains.

http://archiseek.com/2010/1898-church-of-the-holy-redeemer-bray-co-wicklow/

The cross on the map may refer to this one:

http://archiseek.com/2010/1865-christ-church-bray-co-wicklow/

Which they would have seen daily.
There are lots more old photos of Bray on the
http://catalogue.nli.ie/About/Home
site.

[shanew147]

...
You can just see it in the NLI photo above...   incorrect - the square town may be Christ Church (CofI)
.....

I think I got that wrong - the church in the NLI photo has a very square tower, so looks more like Christ Church


Shane

[Pastmagic]

Shane, it is confusing! Here is a photo of the old facade of Holy Redeemer. I have it as a slide for a talk I used to give, so no copyright problem.

This is what it looked like at the time of the marriage.