page_title: Architecture of Limerick
section_title: Georgian architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Architecture of Limerick / Georgian architecture
caption_attribution_description: Tithe Seoirseacha i Sraid Maigh Eala, Luimneach. Togtha ag Sean an Scuab sa bhlian 2001.
context_page_description: As with other cities in Ireland, Limerick has a history of great architecture. A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth and fine architecture:
  Limerick is stronger and more beautiful than all the other cities of Ireland, well walled with stout walls of hewn marble... There is no entrance except by stone bridges, one of the two of which has 14 arches, and the other 8 ... for the most part the houses are of square stone of black marble and built in the form of towers and fortresses.
  Many examples remain in the city to the present day – though much has been lost also, through wars, decay and modern development. Present-day Limerick has perhaps not as extensive historical architecture as other Irish cities, though some very notable examples remain, such as the 800-year-old St. Mary's Cathedral and King John's Castle.
context_section_description: Much Georgian architecture was evident in the city from about the 1800s onwards. Although some has since been demolished, much of the city centre area is built in the Georgian fashion. John's Square, in front of St. John's Cathedral, towards the city centre, is an example of this. Stone-faced Georgian offices and townhouses were built in a planned fashion around this square.  The development of Georgian Limerick was driven by Edmund Sexton Pery, speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and his name has been retained in the Georgian city centre; Newtown Pery. This development extended the city south of the Abbey river and the ancient medieval city. During this time most of the walls of the medieval city were torn down to facilitate the expansion of the city. The new city, Newtown Pery was built completely in Georgian style with long wide and elegant streets in grid plan design with O'Connell Street (previously Georges street) as its centre. The new Georgian town became the new economic and cultural centre of Limerick as the medieval city along with its main street, Nicholas street, fell largely into decline. Much of the Georgian architecture is still largely intact with the Crescent area of O' Connell street and Pery Square being among some of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Ireland however much of the area is now in a neglected or decaying state while much of the more ornate styles around the retail areas of O' Connell street, William street and Sarsfield street has sadly been lost and replaced with more disappointing modern styles of architecture.
  One of Ireland's most celebrated museums, the Hunt Museum is based in the historic 18th-century former Custom House. The museum was established to house an internationally important collection of approximately 2,000 works of art and antiquities formed by John and Gertrude Hunt during their lifetimes. On display are the 9th-century Antrim Cross, a sketch by Picasso and a bronze sculpture of a horse, said to be from a design by Leonardo da Vinci.
caption: Georgian Period Townhouses on Mallow Street in the city centre
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