ByRoute 1.1 Co. Wicklow & Co. Wexford (E)
These pages describe ByRoute 1 between Shankill on the southern outskirts of DUBLIN and Wexford Harbour, Town & Environs.
Bray (Co. Wicklow / Northeast)
Bray (Bré, formerly Brí Chulainn) (pop.30,000), (DART, Dublin Bus 45, 45A, 84, 145, 184, 185), the self-styled “Gateway to Wicklow”, is a Victorian seaside resort that has become a suburb of DUBLIN. It straddles the border between the two counties, once but no longer traced by the River Dargle that divides the town. Bray’s scenic setting is dominated by Bray Head and the two Sugarloaf hills. (Photo – www.irishtourist.com)
Bray History
Strongbow granted these lands in 1173 to Walter de Ridelesford, who in 1213 received a charter from King John to hold a weekly fair. His castle, of which nothing remains, was the first of four built to guard the approaches to the only practicable ford across the river for miles, of great strategic importance for many years in the defence of Dublin.
The riverside district known as Little Bray was once part of the Old Connaught and Corke Farm estates on the edge of the Pale. The place now called Sunnybank, known for centuries as Bloodybank until “sanitised” by Victorian local authorities, was the site of a major defeat inflicted by a citizens’ army led by the Mayor of Dublin, John Drake, on the ferocious Gaelic O’Byrne and O’Toole clans in 1402.
The settlement that grew up on the slopes south of the river came to be known as Much Bray. Records show that by 1615 a lot of people of English descent lived in the area. According to a Church of Ireland “regal visitation” of that year, the Vicar of Bray conducted services using a version of the Book of Common Prayer printed in Irish, indicating that the Gaelic tongue was in general use at the time in these parts, irrespective of religion or origin.
On the day after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, King James I arrived in Bray early in the morning and, learning that he was closely pursued, posted a strong force at the bridge, with instructions to oppose the passage of the pursuers, while he and his retinue made their escape through the Wicklow Mountains. A skirmish is said to have taken place, but appears to have been only a trifling affair.
In the early C19th, according to Weston St. John Joyce, the route from Bray Bridge towards the beach was the old road beside the river, and the present Quinnsboro Road was a pathway through fields, while Quin’s Hotel possessed a splendid garden extending the whole way down to the sea.
There were only two habitations along the sea front, one “a mud hovel, so diminutive, so wretched and so miserable as to earn for it the local soubriquet of ‘The Rat Hole’, tenanted by an eccentric, solitary, tar-begrimed old fisherman, who took a delight in surrounding his unattractive abode with ill-smelling heaps of manure, offal, seaweed and every other abomination that came within his reach, until at last it became difficult to distinguish between the dwelling and these strange accessories.
“In the other cottage near the Head lived an elderly woman and her daughter, whose ostensible means of livelihood were seeking and selling the pebbles peculiar to the locality, known as Wicklow pebbles, but who really were engaged in the profitable business of smuggling, and, in conjunction with others, acted as agents for the various overseas craft that then frequented this coast for the contraband trade. The mother was a woman of great courage and strength of character, and always went about armed; she was known to have amassed a considerable fortune by her operations, and was, at least on one occasion, engaged in an affray with the Preventive men. When she died many years afterwards, her daughter found herself a rich woman.” Most of the smugglers’ activities were centred on Bray Head.
The extension of the Dublin & Kingstown Railway to Bray in 1851 transformed the hamlet into Ireland’s version of Brighton or Margate, attracting holidaymakers from all over the British Isles.
Although long past its heyday as a resort, Bray retains something of its former atmosphere, especially in summer, when it is invaded by hordes of day-trippers and young English language learners. The down-at-heel seaside amusement arcades, dodgems, ghost trains, candyfloss stands, chip joints and fortune-tellers’ signs do not entirely take away from a certain faded gentility.
The Victorian seafront esplanade, laid out by Willam Dargan in 1861, stretches along the full mile-long length of the pebble beach (totally eroded and replaced regularly); it is ideal for a stroll, as is easily-accessible Bray Head. (Photo – Lawrence Collection: 1880 – 1914)
The promenade is lined with hotels, guest houses, pubs, eateries, amusement complexes and private residences, many of architectural and / or historical interest.
Bray harbour, at the mouth of the River Dargle, is an idiosyncratic walled tidal basin where moored vessels spend parts of every day resting on mud. Long home to the local sailing club, it is now an official nature reserve for its resident colony of mute swans, chinese geese, herons, cormorants and gulls.
The Harbour Bar, dating from the early C19th and owned by generations of the O’Toole family, is believed to have been used in more films than any other licensed premises in Ireland, and could well be the prototype for “Irish pubs” all over the world. The delightfully eccentric bar is filled with curios, including a moose’s head presented by Peter O’Toole.
Bray’s Martello Tower (the only one remaining of three built in the vicinity c.1810) was once the private residence of rock band U2‘s frontman Bono.
No. 1 Martello Terrace, at the northern end of the promenade, was home to James Joyce from 1887 to 1891, and is believed to be where the original Christmas Dinner scene described in Portait of the Artist took place.
The Irish Sealife Centre (formerly the National Aquarium), featuring over 100 species of fish, mollusc etc., is worth a visit.
The Esplanade Hotel (1897)
Esplanade Terrace, between Victoria Avenue and Convent Avenue, was the scene of some excitement in 1835, when workmen uncovered what was believed to be a Roman burial site.
The Strand Hotel, originally called Elsinore, was built by Sir William Wilde as an investment; his famous playwright son Oscar inherited it along with adjoining property in 1876, and having promised it to two people, sold it to avoid litigation two years later.
The Martello Hotel, formerly the Heather House Hotel, has provided hospitality since the 1840s.
The Crofton Bray Head Inn at the foot of the eponymous hill is over 140 years old, with plenty of period character.
Naylor’s Cove is the location of Sea Baths (Men Only) constructed c.1900 by the railway company, accessed from a single wooden platform halt under the road bridge, closed in 1929. The baths were popular until the 1960s.
Bray Railway Station, opened in 1854, was renamed in 1966 in honour of Edward Daly, a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. The eastern platform features an interesting set of murals depicting the history of Ireland’s railways.
The War Memorial commemorates the 155 Bray men killed in WWI (out of over 900 who fought) and others who died in WWII.
Quinsboro / Quinnsborough Road retains some traces of its original elegance, such as the townhouses on Duncairn (formerly Dargan) Terrace (1859) and Goldsmith Terrace (1863), while Prince of Wales Terrace (1861) is particularly splendid. Sadly, nothing remains of the former Turkish Baths.
The Royal Hotel, formerly known as the Royal Starlight, was originally opened in 1776 as the Meath Arms.
The Old Courthouse (1844) at the lower end of Main St. now houses an interesting Heritage Centre.
Bray Bridge, first erected in 1666, collapsed in a storm in 1741 and was subsequently rebuilt. The present structure was designed by David Edge in 1856. The River Dargle frequently floods at this point, most recently in November 2009.
The People’s Park, laid out by the local landlord, William Brabazon, 11th Earl of Meath, has recently been restored to include flood defences.
The splendid old Town Hall at the top of Main St. was designed in 1881 by Sir Thomas Newingham Deane and funded by the same Lord Meath, whose family’s heraldic Wyvern adorns the fountain in front of it. The edifice is shamefully desecrated by a hamburger joint.
Bray Town Council now occupies modern offices nearby. The complex includes The Mermaid Arts Centre, with a well-equipped auditorium which hosts a wide variety of music, theatre dance and film, an attractive gallery and a pleasant café. A small farmers market is held here on Saturdays.
Much of Bray’s attraction can be appreciated strolling through parts of the quiet residential area between Main St. and the seafront, with strikingly English names such as Sidmonton Avenue, Putland Hill, Milward Terrace etc. Many of these old houses have beautiful mature gardens that attract songbirds, butterflies and squirrels; foxes are occasionally spotted.
Old Court / Oldcourt Castle, a Tower House built by the Earl of Ormond in 1433, stands in ruins on private land off the Vevay Road. An early Christian socket stone lies nearby.
Killarney Road is lined with opulent Victorian and Edwardian residences, joined in recent decades by housing estates of varying social cachet.
Hollybrook House, at the southern end of Killarney Road, is an impressive Tudoresque mansion built in 1835 to designs by William Vitruvius Morrison for Sir Robert Adair Hodson, completed by his brother Sir George Hodson, damaged by fire in 1969, and now divided into multiple dwellings. The farmyard and grounds are occupied by Brennanstown Riding School, an excellent equestrian centre with livery stables.
Kilcroney is named after a ruined C13th church dedicated to the virgin Saint Croine. Celtic burial stones found nearby indicate religious use of the site dating back to the pre-Christian era.
The land was confiscated by King Charles II from Brian McAlexander O’Toole for his clan’s 1668 attack on Newcastle, and granted to Sir William Flower. In Cromwellian times, public hangings took place from tall trees beside the River Dargle.
Kilcroney House, an even more imposing Tudoresque mansion, was designed by Sancton Wood in 1835 as a country residence for Rev. Humphrey Lloyd, Provost Of Trinity College, Dublin, and over the years has been variously used as a hotel, a sports club and a religious retreat centre. Since 1994 it has served as a boys’ boarding school called the Dublin Oak Academy.
Fassaroe Castle was built by “Master Tresorver” for the Brabazon family in 1536, and was largely destroyed by Cromwellian forces in 1649. Nearby, the C12th St Valerie’s Cross, thought to have originated elsewhere, is the tallest and most important of the four Fassaroe Crosses dotted around the Rathdown area, probably carved by the same stonemason; they are similar in style to crosses found in Cornwall, England, with wheel-shaped heads bearing crucifixion scenes in false relief.
Festina Lente Garden is a beautifully restored Victorian garden on Old Connaught Avenue.
Bray’s religious structures
St. Paul’s church, founded in 1609 on the site of a pre-Norman oratory south of the River Dargle, was altered several times, notably in 1912. Closed as an Anglican place of worship in 1973, it was used for a time as an organ factory and reopened recently as The Well by / for a congregation of born-again Christians, with services involving live music, gospel singing, Bible reading and tea.
The church of the Holy Redeemer (designed by Patrick Byrne in 1852, remodelled by William Byrne in 1898 and since considerably disimproved by modernisations) on Main St. is the parish church for Roman Catholics, also served by St Peter’s church (1837) in Little Bray, Queen of Peace to the south and St Fergal’s to the west.
Christ church (built in 1863 on a site on the Rock of Bray donated by Lord Herbert of Lea, to a design by William Slater) on Church Rd is the parish church for the Church of Ireland community, also served by St Brigid’s church (1859) near Kilcroney and St James’ church (1840) in Crinken, just across the border in Co. Dublin.
St Andrew’s church (1858) on Quinnsboro Rd is said to be one of the oldest purpose-built Presbyterian places of worship in Ireland.
The Methodist church (1859) is a pretty Victorian edifice on Florence Rd.
The Quaker Meeting House on Old Connaught Avenue is run by the Religious Society of Friends.
Calvary Bible church for Baptists has a discreet entrance at 43 Main St.
The church of the Nazarene in an Evangelical establishment on Newcourt Rd.
The church of Ss Mary & Demiana just off Herbert Road serves the local Orthodox Coptic congregation.
Meeting facilities / places of worship have also been made available over the years for Plymouth Brethren, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Hindus and Buddhists.
Ardmore Studios, (formerly known as Pinetrees Studios), Ireland’s only dedicated film making centre, located on Herbert Road since 1958, is one reason for the area’s popularity as a film location. Famous productions filmed in or near Bray include local resident Neil Jordan‘s Angel (1982), Michael Collins (1996) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005), Jim Sheridan‘s My Left Foot (1989) and In The Name of the Father (1993), John Boorman‘s Zardoz (1974), Excalibur (1981) and The Tailor of Panama (2001), Martin Ritt’s The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965), John Guillermin’s The Blue Max (1966), Anthony Harvey’s Lion in Winter (1968), Yves Boisset’s Un Taxi Mauve (1977), Alan Parker’s The Commitments (1991), Ron Howard’s Far & Away (1992), Mel Gibson’s Braveheart (1995), Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane (2007) and the recent television seriesThe Tudors.
Bray has a wide range of eateries, although it has to be said that quite a few of them are pretty awful.
The same is true for pubs. Our personal favourite is O’Driscoll’s Seaside Bar, owned by a grandnephew of James Joyce.
Sir Arthur Purves Phayne, who lived at No. 12 Goldmith Terrace on Quinsboro Road, was Commissioner for Lower Burma in 1858, when the last of the Great Mughal Emperors was imprisoned in Rangoon following the so-called Indian Mutiny; he went on to become Governor of Mauritius.
The Jasmine House Restaurant at No. 85 Main St. proudly displays a plaque in Chinese and Irish commemorating the 1911 birthplace of President Cathriul O’Dalaigh.
Other famous / interesting people associated with Bray include Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Lennox Robinson (who lived in the same seafront house at different times); John Millington Synge and Roger Casement (both pupils at Aravon School, where the novelist Monk Gibbon later taught); writers Richard Power, Liam O’Flaherty, Philip Rooney and James Plunket Kelly; folklorist William Larminie; Lusitania officer Captain Albert A Bestie; painter Paul Henry; musician Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty, conductor of the Halle Orchestra from 1920 to 1930; concert pianist Peggy Dell; tennis star Dr Joshua Pirn; Breton Nazi collaborator and sculptor Yann Renard Goulet RHA, actor Cyril Cusack; journalist Dick Walsh and politicians Roddy Conolly and Dick Roche. Singer Sinead O’Connor owns a Victorian seafront house.
The volume of immigrants in recent years has earned Bray the nicknames “Brayrut” and ”Brayjing“. The number of residents of Oriental origin is particularly striking.
Bray hosts an annual international Jazz Festival on the May bank holiday weekend, each year, described by The Irish Times as “the connoisseur’s jazz festival“, and is also the venue for a popular Summerfest.
Bray is within easy reach of Enniskerry on ByRoute 2.
