“What has the saving of an old water services inspection chamber cover got to do with heritage week? Well in this case it is no ordinary ‘manhole’ cover. It is the oldest inspection chamber in the town, it was damaged and at risk of collapse, it dates to 1852 when the Vartry Water supply came to Bray and we have just saved it from being lost” said Steven Matthews TD.
“The Victorian Vartry water services came through Church Terrace in Bray and this cover was the last of its kind. We knew it was there, but it was best protected by not drawing any attention to it” said Matthews.
“However, by a chance encounter with Brian White of the Bray Historical Society we visited the location and noticed that the cover had been recently damaged and cracked. I expected that any heavy vehicle parking on the cover would destroy it so I immediately contacted Irish Water, our Bray District Engineer and the Heritage Officer in Wicklow County Council.”
“Luckily, I had Irish Water into an Oireachtas Committee at the time and I had a chat with their public affairs manager and informed IW of my unique and unusual request to save some of our heritage. I wanted the 172 year-old entire cover and frame carefully removed in one piece and kept safe after removal. To their credit, the Council and Irish Water worked together, and we now have this piece of Bray industrial heritage safely set aside. We are considering where best to display this item and it has been suggested that in the soon to be refurbished Ballywaltrim Library may be a good spot to display the cover with a history of the Vartry Water works and how important it was and still is to north Wicklow. Ballywaltrim was where the Vartry reservoir storage tank was installed so the library site is quite apt” continued Matthews.
“Prior to this, the Bray Town Reservoir was located on the Herbert Road near Ardmore Studio. It provided water to the houses on the Herbert Road, Quinsboro Road and of course the Railway Station. When the Vartry Reservoir at Roundwood was built in 1860 to supply the city of Dublin with fresh clean water via the Stillorgan Reservoir. The Bray Town Commissioners took a feed from the supply pipe. The Reservoir at Roundwood was under the control of Dublin Corporation and that is why you can see Dublin Corporation drain covers on the Herbert Road, Bray. The construction of the Herbert Road dates to 1862. Just off the Herbert Road is Church Terrace and a local builder Bernard Brady was given the task of supplying water to these cottages. He got his own drain covers made with his name inscribed.
There is lots of heritage in our town, some of it right before your eyes but slightly hidden or dilapidated so as to go unnoticed. I have many small projects like this on my list to do and if you have any ideas please get in touch with me” concluded Deputy Matthews.
If you want to learn more about the history and heritage in Bray, The Bray Cualann Historical Society founded in 1977 is actively recording the history of the town.
It meets on the 3rd Thursday of January to May and September to November in the Royal Hotel at 8pm with illustrated talks from guest speakers. The society is most active during Heritage Week in August.
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