Tholsel

Last updated

Tholsel was a name traditionally used for a local municipal and administrative building used to collect tolls and taxes and to administer trade and other documents in Irish towns and cities. It was at one stage one of the most important secular buildings in Ireland's town and cities and the level of importance was reflected in the prominence and size of these buildings as well as the expensive materials and architectural techniques used. Some historic tholsels still exist, notably The Tholsel, Kilkenny. Towards the end of the 18th century the term tholsel was typically swapped for Market House with many of the administrative functions of the original tholsel transferring to another dedicated local council or government building such as a court or sessions house.

Contents

Similar buildings called tolseys or tolsey houses are found in some English towns and cities, including Burford, Gloucester and Wotton-under-Edge. In both cases the term is derived from the Middle English tolsell, from tol ("toll") + -sell (Old English sele "hall", "house"). [1] [2] However, buildings described as a Tholsel have been more broadly used as a town hall, a courthouse, a town gate, a prison, a market house, a council chamber, a customs house, a guildhall, and a place where tolls were collected. In Scotland the term Tolbooth was used.

The Tholsel building in Dublin was built in the late Middle Ages as a merchants' hall, at the corner of Nicholas Street and Christ Church place, next to the Church of St. Nicholas Within. [3] In the late 15th century, it was the home of the first mechanical public clock in Ireland. In the late eighteenth century, the Dublin Tholsel was used as a courthouse, being notable as the location where many Irish people, convicted of crimes, were sentenced to be transported to exile in Australia. It was demolished around the year 1820.

Notable tholsels in the Republic of Ireland

Name
Location
Date built
Notes
Image
Tholsel, Town Gate Carlingford 1450 [4] It was originally 3 storeys high but the top floor has now been replaced with a modern pitched roof Tholsel Carlingford.jpg
Main Guard Clonmel 1675 [5] Cluain Meala (Clonmel), The Main Guard - geograph.org.uk - 260570.jpg
The Tholsel, Drogheda Drogheda 1770 [6] Drogheda-Thosel-04-2017-gje.jpg
The Tholsel, Dublin Dublin 8 1682 - 1806 [7] [8] [9] Located at Skinner's Row (now Christchurch Place). A city administrative building had been located on the site since the 1300s. Prior to James Malton's drawing in 1792 the Tholsel had a tower with cupola and Ireland's first public mechanical clock. A cock weathervane also sat above the cupola but was blown down along with the tower in a storm. The building fell into decline when it was superseded by City Hall, Dublin. The Tholsel, Dublin.jpg
The Tholsel, Galway Galway 1639 - 1822 [10] [11] The arches of the arcade were pulled down in 1822 and used to construct a new building on Eyre Square in 1831 on the site of the old corn and potato market. This now houses a branch of the Bank of Ireland. The cupola had already been removed in 1800. Part of the back wall of the tholsel can be seen behind St Nicholas Collegiate Church.
The Tholsel, Kilkenny Kilkenny 1761 [12] The Tholsel, Kilkenny - geograph.org.uk - 530476.jpg
The Tholsel, Limerick Limerick 1673, Rebuilt 1702, Rebuilt 1778located in Mary Street in the old Englishtown district of the city. It served as the headquarters of Limerick Corporation until that moved to the Exchange building on Nicholas Street. It was demolished in the early 20th century after it fell into dereliction.
The Tholsel, New Ross New Ross 1749, rebuilt in its current form 1806 [13] The Tholsel, New Ross.jpg
Westgate Tholsel Carrick-on-Suir 1500 [14] Carrick-on-Suir - The Tholsel - 20190909094330.jpg
Clock Gate Youghal 1777 [15] Used as a gaol and private dwelling at various times Vote for Kennedy! (11304269495).jpg

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardee</span> Town in County Louth, Ireland

Ardee is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued development of the town since then much of the fabric of the medieval town has been removed.

The architecture of Ireland is one of the most visible features in the Irish countryside – with remains from all eras since the Stone Age abounding. Ireland is famous for its ruined and intact Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, small whitewashed thatched cottages and Georgian urban buildings. What are unaccountably somewhat less famous are the still complete Palladian and Rococo country houses which can be favourably compared to anything similar in northern Europe, and the country's many Gothic and neo-Gothic cathedrals and buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tholsel, Kilkenny</span>

The Tholsel on High Street, Kilkenny, Ireland was built in 1761 by Alderman William Colles as place for collecting tolls, but has also been used as a customs house, a courthouse and a guildhall. It is used today as the city hall, and this is the name by which many local people know the building.

A tolbooth is a traditional Scottish 'town hall' for the administration of burghs, usually providing a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail.

William Vitruvius Morrison was an Irish architect, son and collaborator of Sir Richard Morrison.

John Bowden was an Irish architect and member of the Board of First Fruits of the Church of Ireland from 1813 to 1821. He was born in Dublin and died in 1822.

In Ireland, the term city has somewhat differing meanings in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

John Benjamin Keane was an Irish architect of the 19th century. (d.1859). He was engineer on the River Suir navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolbooth</span>

A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essential features in a Scottish burgh, along with the mercat cross and the kirk (church).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shee Alms House</span> Almshouse

Shee Alms House was founded by the Shee family in 1582 'to accommodate twelve poor persons' in the city of Kilkenny, Ireland. It is a nationally significant Tudor period Almshouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Guard (Clonmel)</span> Courthouse in Clonmel, Ireland

The Main Guard is a National Monument and former courthouse located in Clonmel, Ireland.

Grace's Old Castle is a historic castle building in the centre of Kilkenny which has been extended to create the city’s modern courthouse structure. It houses one of the oldest courthouses in the country.

Christchurch Place is a street in central Dublin, Ireland, formerly known as Skinners Row or Skinner's Row, it formed one of the main thoroughfares in medieval Dublin.

William Henry Byrne was an Irish architect who mainly designed churches. He studied under James Joseph McCarthy before going into business with John O’Neill in 1869. He worked on his own after O'Neill's death in 1883.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tholsel, Dublin</span> Historic public building in Dublin, Ireland

The Tholsel, Dublin was an important building which combined the function of civic hall, guildhall, court and gaol. It was located on Skinners Row within the old city walls of Dublin, Ireland. It existed in various forms from after the Norman invasion of Ireland until it was finally demolished around 1809. It was one of the most important and imposing buildings in medieval Dublin and was a secular focal point within the city walls situated at a major crossroads close to Dublin Castle, St Patrick's Cathedral and Christchurch Cathedral. It was the first of several tholsels which were constructed in the major cities and towns of late medieval Ireland and the Dublin tholsel also housed the first public clock in Ireland on its tower from 1466.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tholsel, Drogheda</span> Municipal building in Drogheda, Ireland

The Tholsel is a municipal facility in West Street, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. Formerly the meeting place of Drogheda Borough Council, it is currently used as a tourist information office.

References

  1. ↑ "Tol-sel and tolsel - Middle English Compendium".
  2. ↑ "Definition of TOLSEY".
  3. ↑ "1682 - Tholsel, Dublin - Architecture of Dublin City, Lost Buildings of Ireland - Archiseek - Irish Architecture". 9 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "1450 – The Tholsel, Carlingford, Co. Louth – Architecture of Louth". Archiseek.com. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Main Guard". Heritage Ireland. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Architects Ireland - The Tholsel - van Dijk Architects". www.vandijkarchitects.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "1682 – Tholsel, Dublin". Archiseek - Irish Architecture. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "Wea44 Tholsel | Dublin City Council". www.dublincity.ie. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "Tholsel, Dublin". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Croffey, Amy. "8 Irish buildings that vanished, disappeared or were demolished". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Mitchell, James (1976). "The Tholsel at Galway (1639-1822)". Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. 35: 77–85. JSTOR   25535475.
  12. ↑ "The Tholsel – Kilkenny City and County Portal". Kilkenny.ie. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Newrossmarket". Irishantiquities.bravehost.com. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  14. ↑ FUSIO. "The Tholsel, Westgate, TOWN PARKS, Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary South". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "1777 – Clock Gate, Youghal, Co. Cork". Archiseek - Irish Architecture. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.