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Humphrey Jervis

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Portrait of Sir Humphrey Jervis by Thomas Pooley

Humphrey Jervis(1630–1707) was one of the first notable private developers in the history of Dublin.[1]

He wasLord Mayor of Dublinduring the reign ofCharles II of England.

Life[edit]

Jervis was born in 1630 inOllerton, Shropshire.[2]He was one of the younger sons of John Jervys of Chatkyll nearEccleshallin Staffordshire and Elizabeth Jervys. He was baptized at the Church of All Saints inStandon, Staffordshireon the 11 July 1630.

He was a ship-owner and merchant[3]as well as an architect and later a freeman of the city of Dublin.

Jervis' own house was located at the corner ofMary StreetandCapel Streetand is described during the 1670s as 'the great mansion house of St Mary's Abbey'.[4]

He later built a house in what are now the grounds ofBelcamp Parkat some stage in the 1680s.[5]

He became Lord Mayor of the city between 1681 and 1682.[6]He was knighted for his services in 1681.[7][8]

He likely died in 1707 in a debtors prison in Dublin and was buried inSt Mary's Church, Mary Street, Dublinon 6 January 1708.[9]

The family name Jervis originates from the Norman name Gervase.

Marriages and issue[edit]

Sir Humphrey Jervis was first married to Katherine Walsh ( - d. 1673), the daughter of city Alderman Robert Walsh. Secondly to Elizabeth Lane (b. Abt. 1640 – d. 1687), daughter ofCol. John Lane(b. 1609 – d. 1667) MP of the parish of Bentley and HydeWalsallin Staffordshire who assisted his sisterJane Lane, Lady Fisher(c. 1626 - 9 September 1689) in the escape of Charles II after theBattle of Worcesterin 1641.[10]

Jervis had three sons and four daughters. His daughter Katherine Jervis married John White of Ballyellis inCounty Wexford.Their son John Jervis White took on the name as part of his inheritance and became great-grandfather of the 1st Baronet SirJohn Jervis-White-Jervisof Ballyellis, Wexford. Sir Humhrey's daughter Mary married the painter Nevill Pooley, son of the Dublin society portrait painter Thomas Pooley (1646 - 1723) whose portrait of Sir Humphrey Jervis is now held in the archive at Trinity College Dublin.[11][12][13]

The Admiral of the fleetSir John Jervis, 1st Earl of St. Vincent(9 January 1735 – 14 March 1823) an admiral of the Royal Navy was the great-grandson of Sir Humphrey's brother John Jervis (b. 1631).

Career[edit]

Dublin during the reign of Charles II[edit]

Humphrey Jervis is notable for having developed the area of Dublin to the north of theRiver Liffey.It was the first large-scale residential scheme of its kind, born out of his own initiative and funded privately by him, after he and number of associates bought 20 acres of the lands of St. Mary's Abbey in 1674 fromRichard Power, 1st Earl of Tyrone,for the sum about £3,000.[14][15]The main part of Jervis's development comprised a rectangular grid that ran offCapel Streetand that included;Jervis Street,Mary Street,Great Britain Street and Great Strand Street, at the centre of which was St. Mary's Church and graveyard.

TheAbbey of St. Mary'shad been founded in 1154 for theSavignac Orderand was passed on in the 1170s to theCistercians.At the time it was considered to be the richest Cistercian monastery in Ireland, but it became a casualty of Henry VIII policy on the Dissolution of the Monasteries in about 1539.[16][17]In 1676 Sir Humphrey approached the Viceroy, who was thenArthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex,with a view to developing the land and building a bridge across the River Liffey to connect the new development with the old city, which he intended to name in honour of the Viceroy.[18]He was therefore granted permission and the bridge duly became calledEssex Bridgeafter completion. Jervis's new bridge had a drawbridge, or lifting section at one end to allow large boats and ships with masts to sail upstream.[19]It connected with the main thoroughfare of Jervis's development being named Capel Street after the Viceroy's family name that subsequently became one of the most fashionable addresses in Dublin. Essex Bridge was built using the stone from the old abbey,[20]and it became the focal point of Dublin remaining so for more than one hundred years, but after having fallen into disrepair in 1872, it was rebuilt and refashioned, following that it was renamed asGrattan Bridge.[21]

In 1677James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde,was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland instead of Essex and he was also interested in Jervis's development scheme. Ormonde then suggested important modifications, persuading Jervis to interpose a stone quay alongside the river, which he duly did, it is now known as Upper and Lower Ormonde Quay.[22]The houses and warehouses that were planned to reside with their rears alongside the river were then turned around on Ormonde's suggestion, so that they faced the river. A market was also laid out and called Ormonde Market, but only survived up until 1890. It had a central rotunda and some seventy stalls. It was replaced by Ormond Square in 1917. But the suggestions made by the Viceroy were of immense importance to the future development of Dublin, as it was this prototype that inspired the whole system of quays in their final beauty. Dublin might otherwise have been like so many other towns through which the river slinks shamefacedly between tall buildings, which would give it no chance to be seen.[23]Another bridge known asOrmonde Bridgewas later on erected by Jervis and named in honour of Ormonde, but as it was a timber bridge it was fragile in its construction,[24]it was also too close to Essex Bridge rendering it later unnecessary. When it was ruined by the floods of 1802 it was not rebuilt. It was therefore replaced later on by Richmond Bridge, which now occupies a more westerly site today.

Today a shopping centre in the central grid area that Jervis developed now takes its name as theJervis Shopping centre,alongside which runs Jervis Street.

References[edit]

  1. ^Maurice, Craig, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 25
  2. ^6. Burke, John, A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Henry Colburn, 1838, P. 534
  3. ^Maurice, Craig, Chapter I, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 25
  4. ^"CAPEL STREET & ENVIRONS ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION AREA ( ACA )"(PDF).dublincity.ie.Retrieved21 November2023.
  5. ^"Belcamp Park | Dublin City Council".dublincity.ie.21 May 2018.Retrieved21 November2023.
  6. ^James, Olwyn, Historical Development of Capel Street, Capel Street D1, A Study of the Past A Vision of the Future, Dublin Civic Trust, P.13
  7. ^Wright, George Newenham, An Historical Guide to the City of Dublin, Baldwin, Craddock & Joy, 1825, P. 151
  8. ^Maurice, Craig, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 27
  9. ^Carm, Augustine Dillon Cosgrave, O. (1969)."North Dublin City".Dublin Historical Record.23(1): 3–22.JSTOR30082548.Retrieved21 November2023.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^LANE, John (1609-67), of Bentley, Staffs. History of Parliament Online,http:// historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/lane-john-1609-67Archived2017-01-18 at theWayback Machine
  11. ^The Art World in Britain 1660 to 1735,https://artworld.york.ac.uk/sourceView.do?sourceUrn=5.1480.06357&br=noArchived2017-01-18 at theWayback Machine
  12. ^Thomas Pooley, Portrait Painter,http:// libraryireland /irishartists/thomas-pooley.phpArchived2017-01-18 at theWayback Machine
  13. ^Suffolk Painters,http:// suffolkpainters.co.uk/index.cgi?choice=painter&pid=500Archived2016-12-19 at theWayback Machine
  14. ^Maurice, Craig, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 25
  15. ^James, Alwyn, Historical Development of Capel Street, Capel Street D1, A Study of the Past A Vision of the Future, Dublin Civic Trust, P.10
  16. ^James, Olwyn, Chapter I, Historical Development of Capel Street, Capel Street D1, A Study of the Past A Vision of the Future, Dublin Civic Trust, P. 1
  17. ^Casey, Christine, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland), Yale University Press (28 Oct. 2005), P. 10
  18. ^Maurice, Craig, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 25
  19. ^James, Olwyn, Chapter I, Historical Development of Capel Street, Capel Street D1, A Study of the Past A Vision of the Future, Dublin Civic Trust, P. 11
  20. ^Casey, Christine, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland), Yale University Press (28 Oct. 2005), P. 88
  21. ^Bridges of Dublin,http:// bridgesofdublin.ie/gallery/view/view-from-capel-street-1797Archived2017-01-18 at theWayback Machine
  22. ^James, Olwyn, Chapter I, Historical Development of Capel Street, Capel Street D1, A Study of the Past A Vision of the Future, Dublin Civic Trust, P. 13
  23. ^Maurice, Craig, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 26
  24. ^Maurice, Craig, Dublin 1660 – 1860, Penguin Books Ltd, P. 27
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