David La Touche

A number of places in Greystones
 
are called after the La Touche Family:
 
La Touche Park
 
La Touche Wines
 
The La Touche Hotel (now demolished and turned into apartments)
 
 
The  first of the La Touche Family arrived in Ireland in 1689.
 
His name was David La Touche.
 
He was French and a Huguenot.
 
Huguenots belonged to the  Protestant religion.
 
They were forced to leave France
 
after King Louis the Fourteenth began to persecute non-Catholics.
 
 
To avoid being arrested David ran away
 
and joined the army of William of Orange  the King of Holland.
 
David was only fourteen years old.
 
 
William of Orange ended up in Ireland fighting
 
James the Second of England
 
in the famous Battle of the Boyne.
 
 
David La Touche fought at that battle and his side,
 
the side of William of Orange won.
 
David stayed in Ireland and became a silk and poplin merchant.
 
(Poplin, like silk is a material).
 
 
Lots of his army friends needed someone to look after their money
 
so David La Touche set up a bank
 
and this became the first bank in Ireland.
 
 
You can read more about the history of the La Touche family
 
HERE on the La Touche Legacy website.

Placenames – Charlesland

Ridge and Furrow - Ploughed soil in Devon CropShot via Compfight

Charlesland gets its name from the old English words ‘churl’s acre’.

Here a churl means a member of a kind of farmer,

either a labourer or an owner of a small farm,

especially in the Middle Ages.

 

In 2003 parts of a musical instrument were found at Charlesland.

You can see them HERE and read more about them on THIS LINK

Placenames – Delgany (This post includes link to a walking trail)

ThornsCreative Commons License Tim Praschberger via Compfight

Deilgne, the Irish name for Delgany may have come from;

(a) dealg: a thorn (so Delgany might have been a thorny place).

(b) It may have been the name of a person

(b) or dearg: the colour red

The soil around the whole village is of a reddish colour.

This is particularly noticeable after rain.

Delgany village has a great website.

You can see it HERE

It includes a walking trail which you can see

if you click THIS LINK

Placenames – Victoria Road

The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons 1838 Plate 39Creative Commons License CharmaineZoe’s Marvelous Melange via Compfight

In the second half of the 19th century Church Road, Trafalgar Road and Victoria Road were built. Victoria Road was called after the Queen Victoria. You can read more about her HERE Queen Victoria made four official visits to Ireland: 1849, 1853, 1861 and 1900. The railway station in Greystones opened on 30 October 1855. Many houses were built in Greystones after that time.

Placenames in Greystones named after Colonel Frederick Burnaby, his wife Elizabeth Hawkins Whitshed and members of her family.

The Burnaby

The marriage of Colonel Frederick Burnaby and Elizabeth Hawkins Whitshed explains the names of a lot of places in Greystones. Click HERE to read more about Colonel Burnaby and HERE to read more about Elizabeth.

There are many place called after Colonel Burnaby even though he only paid a short visit here. He died in 1885. Elizabeth was a landowner in Greystones. She owned the land on which the Burnaby Estate is built. She called the estate after Colonel Burnaby. It was built in the early 1900s.

There is the Burnaby Estate, Burnaby Park and The Burnaby Pub also in the town

Burnaby Avenue
Burnaby Court
Burnaby Heights
Burnaby Lawn
Burnaby Manor
Burnaby Mews
Burnaby Mill
Burnaby Park
Burnaby Way
and Burnaby Wood

In the Burnaby Estate there is

St. Vincent’s Road (called after Elizabeth’s father). Here it is in 1985:
St.VincentsRd1995001

Hawkins Lane

Whitshed Road (Hawkins and Whitshed were Elizabeth’s family names).

Portland Road ( The Duke of Portland was Elizabeth’s cousin). This is Portland Road in 1985:
PortlandRd1995001PortlandRd95001

Somerby Road after the town in Leicestershire where the family had connections,

Erskine Avenue after another family member

and Burnaby Road.

Here are some photos of Burnaby Park around 1985

BurnabyPk001Burnaby95001Burnaby001Park95001

Placenames – Chill Mhantáin/Wicklow

Silence Piyushgiri Revagar via Compfight

Chill Mhantáin means the church or cell of Mantáin.

Mantáin was thought to be a toothless man

who turned to Christianity shortly

after St. Patrick arrived in Ireland.

You can read more about Mantáin HERE

 

The name Wicklow is from Viking-lo,

which means a low-lying swamp or meadow near water.

 

Placenames – Kimberley Road

Contemplative St George Simon Webster via Compfight

Our school backs onto Kimberley Road.

Kimberley Road was named after a British victory.

The town of Kimberley in South Africa

was besieged by the Boers.

The siege began on 14th October 1899

and was ended  on 15th February 1900.

Click HERE to read more about the Siege of Kimberley.

 

People in Greystones used call Kimberley Road,

the Green Lane and the White Road,

because of the surface of the road over time.

 

Thanks to Gary Acheson and members of Historical Greystones Facebook page for this information.

Placenames – Our school is on Trafalgar Road

This is Trafalgar Road in Greystones.

Trafalgar Rd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our school is located on Trafalgar Road.
Mariners Museum Newport News Virginia Va. Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson - Jonathan Guiness after Sir William Beechey's 1801 portrait - circa 2000 EnglandCreative Commons License C Watts via Compfight

Trafalgar Road got its name in 1855 to commemorate

the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

This was a victory at sea for the British navy

led by Admiral Horatio Nelson.

The French navy were defeated.

Nelson lost his life at this battle.

Click HERE to learn more about

the Battle of Trafalgar and the

tactics and strategies that were

used.

Nelson's Column joshylh via Compfight

We got this information from Gary Acheson on the Historical Greystones Facebook page.

Placenames – Greystones – How Greystones got its name

grey stones 2

Photo by Leon

English speaking sailors sailing on

the Irish Sea used to call the area

south of Rathdown, the grey stones 

because of the most noticeable of landmarks;

the grey rocks at St. David’s School.

This is how Greystones got its name.
Greystones (Na Clocha Liatha in Irish) is a coastal town in County WicklowCreative Commons License William Murphy via Compfight

Don’t make this mistake !

Lots of people think that Greystones got its name from the small grey stones that you can see on South Beach. If you made this mistake, don’t worry. We did too.

DSC_1103 :: Sr. K :: via Compfight

In fact Greystones was first named by sailors passing by in their boats in the 18th Century. They saw the grey stone of the rocky headland, where St. David’s Secondary School is now and used call the place ‘The Grey Stones’. Greystones would have been the only bit of real shelter for boats along the East Coast from Wicklow to Bray.

Looking North from South Beach towards Bray you can see the small rocky headland here.

Greystones - County Wicklow [Ireland]Creative Commons License William Murphy via Compfight

Looking South towards the house called Carrig Eden you can see the grey rocks in this photo.

Greystones - County Wicklow [Ireland]Creative Commons License William Murphy via Compfight

Here is a photograph of what the grey rocks or as the sailors called them ‘grey stones’ look like close up.

Greystones - County Wicklow [Ireland]Creative Commons License William Murphy via Compfight

Links for Teachers – The Placenames of County Wicklow

Great Sugarloaf Mountain, Co.Wicklow Rona Kelly via Compfight

Click HERE to see ‘The Placenames of Co. Wicklow’

– From A to W –  by Diarmuid O Keeffe.

This information on local placenames

was put together as part of  student work experience 

in the Heritage Office of Wicklow County Council

using “The Placenames of County Wicklow” by Liam Price.