William Fraher, curator of Waterford County Museum
continues this week with his series on the wealth of ironwork to be seen in
Dungarvan and Abbeyside. Lamp posts, boot scrapers, railings, balconies,
post boxes, gates, bandstands, street name plaques, bollards, manhole covers
and window guards.
The Bandstand, Dungarvan Town Park
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| Detail of Bandstand roof with gas lights. Photo by Robert French c. 1900, N.L.I |
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| Dungarvan Brass Band playing in the bandstand c. 1910 |
This structure is one of the largest ornamental cast-iron
features in Dungarvan. We have a lot of
detail about the bandstand and its origins. How did it come to be erected? In the 1890s Dungarvan was developing into a
popular seaside resort. This was
facilitated by the opening of the railway in 1878. It was particularly popular
with Tipperary people who were known as ‘Gaybricks’.
Captain William Gibbons (1827-1893) left a bequest
of £1,760 to the people of Dungarvan for the development of a new park and
esplanade. Public parks were being developed all over the world and were
considered essential for the health of the local population and an important
attraction for visitors. Dungarvan park
was opened in 1895 with trees, lawns, pathways and ornamental seating. In April
1897 the Town Commissioners asked the Borough Surveyor, Michael Beary, to
produce an estimate for a bandstand. By
June the Commissioners approved of a design to be supplied by the Scottish iron
founders, William Macfarlane & Co. The following week they advertised for local
hardware merchants to quote for supplying this model.
In
July a deputation from the local brass band appealed to the Commissioners to go
ahead with the erection of the band stand. The Commissioners invited tenders for a 'metal
band stand of octagon shape, with an iron roof but without a ceiling'. On 5 August Michael Power's tender of £16 for
erecting the structure was accepted. George
Stokes ordered the band stand components from MacFarlanes for which he was paid
£61.
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| Bandstand ironwork MacFarlanes catalogue |
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| Bandstand spire |
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| Detail of Bandstand pillar |
The
band committee picked the following colours for the new band stand: Spire -
gold; Roof - light green; Floating - white; Columns - bronze; Railings - light
green; Cantilever - white. McFarlane also supplied glass lanterns for the band
stand.
In
1901 Dungarvan Urban District Council advertised Dungarvan as a health resort
noting the new park and bandstand:
A
new band stand has been erected…to accommodate the splendidly organised and
highly trained Reed and Brass Band, whose performances under the efficient
direction of Mr Hatton, late Bandmaster of the 13th Regiment, are
the delight of all who hear them. The
band plays two evenings each week and from 4 to 6p.m. on Sundays.
In
the 1920s or 1930s the cast iron railings connecting the pillars were removed
and replaced by single ugly looking bars and at the same time the floor space
was extended. In the 1990s the band stand was vandalised on a number of
occasions in which the ornamental cornice was badly broken, and the remainder
was removed. The ornamental brackets
projecting from the top of each pillar were also broken. It is a great pity that what remained of the
original work was not reproduced. The
only original features to remain are the pillars (which are stamped MacFarlane
in raised lettering) and the terminal on top of the roof. One improvement was the replacement of the
modern railing with a period style design.
Further
detail on the history of the park is available at www.waterfordmuseum.ie
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| Willie Burke repairing Bandstand 1950s |
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| Repairing Bandstand roof 1980s |