Mecklenburgh Street

Mecklenburgh Street

Mecklinburgh Street
A Black and Tan (auxilliary) on duty outside Hynes Pub in Dublin in 1921 on the corner of Railway Street and Gloucester Place
Interactive map of Mecklenburgh Street
Former name	Great Martin's Lane (Prior to 1765)
Namesake	Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Coordinates	53°21′07″N6°15′25″W / 53.352079°N 6.257074°W / 53.352079; -6.257074
East	Buckingham Street
West	Marlborough Street
Other
Known for	Georgian architecture Monto

Mecklenburgh Street was a street in Dublin, Ireland first laid out from in the 1760s along the course of a pre-existing route known as Great Martins Lane which extended from Marlborough Street nearly as far as the Strand and to what later became Buckingham Street. ^[1]

The street was split later in two by Gardiner Street in the 1780s to form the western Upper Mecklenburgh Street and the eastern Lower Mecklenburgh Street.

The street was originally named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of George III from around 1765 and was renamed to Upper Tyrone Street (1886) and Lower Tyrone Street (1888) for nearby Tyrone House and later again these were renamed Waterford Street and Railway Street in 1911. ^[2] On both occassions, this occurred owing to the areas connection with prostitution and the Monto red light district.

While Railway Street retains its name as of 2025, Waterford Street has now entirely disappeared and been replaced by a school, social housing and private apartments in the second half of the 20th century. ^[3]

History

The street is detailed but left unnamed on Charles Brooking's map of Dublin (1728). ^{[4] [5]}

The botanical gardens of the Royal Dublin Society were located off the street from approximately 1735 until 1795 with some of its meetings taking place in a house it had there up until around 1739. ^{[6] [7]} It later moved to Glasnevin and ultimately became the National Botanic Gardens.

From the 1760s, large Georgian houses began to be developed at Upper Mecklenburgh Street, close to the corner of Marlborough Street.

In the later 19th century, prostitution in Dublin became more confined to the general Monto area of which Lower Mecklenburgh Street was central. From around 1870, women began moving into the cheap tenement housing and rooms for rent in the area and by 1885 brothels were extending into the district. ^[8]

Year	Pre 1765	1765	1786	1886	1888	1911
Upper			Upper Mecklenburgh Street	Upper Tyrone Street	Upper Tyrone Street	Waterford Street
Lower			Lower Mecklenburgh Street	Lower Mecklenburgh Street	Lower Tyrone Street	Railway Street
Combined	Great Martins Lane	Mecklenburgh Street

Popular culture

In Ulysses by James Joyce, Bella Cohen's brothel is located at 82 Tyrone Street Lower and is the setting of episode 15 in the book.

Notable residents

• James Gandon lived and had offices at number 7 Mecklenburgh Street from 1782 ^{[9] [10]}
• John van Nost the younger lived at number 21 on the street at the time of his death circa 1780 ^[11]
• Henry A. Baker had property at 112 on the street from around 1810-31 ^[12]
• Thomas Farrell (sculptor)
• Patrick Heeney

External links

• Thom's Directory entry for Mecklenburgh Street Lower (1862)
• Thom's Directory entry for Mecklenburgh Street Upper (1862)

References

1. "John Rocque's maps of Dublin, 1756-1762". Virtual Treasury. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
2. Seery, Michael (24 August 2015). "Railway Street". Wide and Convenient Streets. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
3. "Waterford Street, Dublin city (1952/1953)". RTÉ Archives: Stills Library. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
4. Lennon, Colm. "Irish Historic Towns Atlas (IHTA), no. 19, Dublin, Part II, 1610 to 1756" (PDF). Retrieved 28 November 2025.
5. "Charles Brooking Map of Dublin 1728". Dublin Port Archive. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
6. Dillon Cosgrave, Augustine (June 1969). "North Dublin City". Dublin Historical Record. 23 (1): 3–22.
7. "A history of the Royal Dublin society" (PDF). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
8. "'Monto' – History Ireland". historyireland.com. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
9. "Dictionary of Irish Architects". www.dia.ie. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
10. "Irish Builder and Engineer". Mecredy, Percy & Company. 1922. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
11. "Will of VAN NOST, JOHN, Mecklenburgh Street, Dublin". Virtual Treasury. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
12. "A LIST OF ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, SURVEYORS, MEASURERS AND ENGINEERS EXTRACTED FROM WILSON'S DUBLIN DIRECTORIES FROM 1760 TO 1837" (PDF). Retrieved 25 November 2025.