My wife's ancestors - Fitzwilliam - Contents

The "riding of the bounds" of Dublin in 1603

Dublin city officials rode in procession around the bounds of the city in 1603.
They rode to Merrion chapel.
They then came to the grounds of Merrion Castle, the seat of the young Thomas Fitzwilliam (knighted 1608, created 1st Viscount Fitzwilliam 1629).
The officials discovered that the path through the grounds of Merrion Castle, formerly passable, was now blocked. They rode around it.
They ended up at a banquet at Sir Henry Harrington's house in Grangegorman.

The account of the "riding of the bounds" is preserved (in apparently 1603) in the "White Book of Dublin".

This survives as [DCA] C1/2/2.
The "riding of the bounds" is on folios 104-107. (This uses the numbering at the bottom of pages. There is another numbering at the top of pages.)
Gilbert (below) shows that the "White Book of Dublin" contains documents from 1229 to 1644. Some of the earlier ones must be transcripts made later. The book itself seems to have existed in 1563. Conclusion: It is hard to be sure, but the "riding of the bounds" was probably written in when it happened in 1603.

The "White Book of Dublin" account is transcribed (in 1889) in [Gilbert's Records of Dublin].

See "The White Book of the City of Dublin", on pp.81-203 of Vol.1 (1889) of [Gilbert's Records of Dublin].
See "Riding of Dublin Franchises, 1603", on pp.190-198.
See p.190 and p.191 and p.192.

We will show the extract concerning Merrion Castle, along with Gilbert's transcription.
Photos taken courtesy of Dublin City Library and Archive.

Start

The title of the account in the White Book of Dublin.
It is in English. Note date "1603".
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Gilbert's transcript.

The start of the account in the White Book of Dublin.
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Gilbert's transcript.
They exited the old city through Dame's Gate (now vanished, but Dame St survives).

Blackrock and Merrion

They ride from Blackrock to Merrion chapel.
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Gilbert's transcript.

They come to Merrion Castle.
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Gilbert's transcript.

They have to ride around the grounds of Merrion Castle.
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Gilbert's transcript.

References

"Riding the Franchises", Lennox Barrow, Dublin Historical Record, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Sept 1980), pp. 135-138.
See extract from p.17 of [Ball and Hamilton, 1895].