What lies beneath?
Personhole Covers and Drain Grates
These are the most overlooked heritage ironwork
items as we pass by them every day without giving them a second glance. In Dungarvan there are still old examples to
be found around the town centre, particularly around Church Street and the
surrounding lanes. Most of these
examples are stamped with the iron foundry brand where they were cast. These include the Park Foundry, Waterford,
Hive Foundry Cork, Perrott Hive Works Cork, and Graham of Waterford.
There are three covers with the names of local plumbers, William Barr, William Power and George Stokes, but no foundry name. Could these have been cast by Coward’s Foundry in Dungarvan? The Coward foundry was situated in Stephen Street, but we have no accurate information on when it operated.
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| Drain Grill - Hive Foundry, Cork |
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| Coward's Iron Foundry |
William Power was based in Mary Street and advertised in the Dungarvan Observer in 1919 as a plumber and gas fitter. George Stokes (1839-1914) plumber and gas fitter, was based in Main Street in the 1870s and later moved to Grattan Square. The family also ran the baths near The Lookout from 1894. A 1909 advert notes that they were also builders, hardware merchants and grocers.
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| George Stokes Advertisement |
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| William Power Advertisement from Dungarvan Observer 1919 |
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| B Graham Drain cover |
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| Drain Grill Hive Foundry Cork |
