Fireman’s rest: Cherished piece of Cork’s history restored after 20 years of rot
Pictured Firemen's 1905 The The (later Hut Hut) Near Statue Old St Street, On Cie Patrick's Matthew Circa Fr Cork
Out of sight and left to rot for over 20 years, a cherished piece of Cork’s history and heritage has been restored to its former glory and is set to become a feature of the city’s streetscape again.
Having borne witness to life on Cork’s main thoroughfare for over a century, surviving wars, floods, and fires, the 120-year-old ‘fireman’s rest’ was in a sad and sorry state after two decades ‘in storage’ in a council yard following its removal in 2002 for the St Patrick’s St revamp.
But thanks to campaigning work by historians, retired bus drivers, and firefighers, Cork City Council used the Decade of Centenaries commemorations and a small army of skilled craftsmen to embark on the painstaking and faithful restoration of the little green hut.
It has now been installed outside the headquarters of the city fire brigade on Anglesea St, where it will begin a new life next year as an interpretive centre, which it’s hoped will help tell the story of the Cork City Fire Brigade, and especially, their heroic response during the Burning of Cork by crown forces in December 1920.
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Cork City Council’s heritage officer, Niamh Twomey said the council was delighted to be able to oversee the project.
“It’s a very important piece of our heritage and of our infrastructure — and also because it evokes such strong feelings, there is a great joy and great pride in it,” she said.
The rest, which measures some 2m long and 1.5m wide, is no bigger than a standard garden shed, but its presence in the shadow of the landmark Fr Matthew statue loomed large on St Patrick's St, becoming a key part of the city's social fabric.
Built initially to provide shelter to an on-duty firefighter, it was used for decades by tram and bus drivers, but when St Patrick’s St was earmarked for renewal in 2001, the rest was not part of Spanish architect Beth Gali’s modern new vision for the street, and it was removed in 2002, placed in a council storage yard in Fitzgerald’s Park where, exposed to the elements, it deteriorated almost beyond the point of repair.
Several city councillors raised the issue over the years. Several news reports highlighted its poor condition. Retired Cork City fire fighter and historian Pat Poland led a delegation to City Hall a few years ago with a proposal for its restoration.
But nothing happened. No funding was available, City Hall said repeatedly.
Ms Twomey said despite the lack of funding, the structure was not forgotten, and when the council began discussing possible Decade of Centenaries commemorations over 10 years ago, the idea of restoring it emerged.
Paul Moynihan, the council’s head of corporate affairs, suggested a mechanism that would allow the council to recognise the role of the city’s fire service during the burning of Cork in 1920, while also securing funding for a meaningful restoration of the rest.
Nuala Stewart, the council’s Decade of Commemorations coordinator, said the programme of events, supported by state funding, gave the council the perfect opportunity to put the focus back on the fireman’s rest.
“We were always committed to delivering a significant landmark legacy project arising out of the Decade of Commemorations. And we’re delighted that the commemorations programme has been successful in delivering what has been a long-time priority of council,” she said.
And so began the forensic research and meticulous planning for what was to become a painstaking restoration project.
Ms Twomey said the team consulted the archives, historians and experts, including Mr Poland, to research as much of the rest’s history as possible.
Senior executive architect at Cork City Council, Cathal O'Boyle said the structure was in very poor condition when the work began.
“When it was removed from St Patrick’s St, it was taken off its limestone plinth and placed onto the ground,” he said.
“Sitting on the ground isn’t great for the timber floor and bottom rail of the building itself.
“There had also been adjustments to the rear wall, which had been removed and a small extension done, so two end panels were gone completely.”
Expert blacksmiths at Leeside Forge were able to restore the existing panels but the council had to arrange for the recasting of several missing panels.
Glasgow-based Walter McFarlane and Co, who built the original, went out of business in 1965 but its pattern book was bought by another foundry nearby.
The council contacted that firm, it looked up the historic ‘pattern books’, and its experts were able to recast new panels based on the original designs and measurements.
Mr O’Boyle said an interesting detail emerged during the recasting process.
“All the lower panels had holes drilled in them on the inside for the fitting of a bench, work which was done after it was assembled here,” he said.
“The drilling of the holes had weakened the panels and that led to the emergence of cracks. We were asked if we wanted holes drilled in the new panels to make them look like the originals, but we decided not — there was no real need to go into that detail.”
The council is recreating the original limestone-capped floor, but the team could not establish for sure what kind of doors were installed originally, so they have opted for the double doors that were in place from around the 1960s.
“Like any historic refurbishment, you can look at as much of the history as you can and make an educated guess as to what the rest of it looked like, and that’s what we’re doing with the doors,” Mr O'Boyle said.
He described the craftmanship involved as phenomenal, with experts in stonework, metal work, and lead roofing all involved.
“It has been just a delight to see,” he said.
While the council planned to have the structure largely finished by Christmas, some important details remain to be completed in the new year, including the fitting of some finials and wrought iron lettering spelling the words ‘fireman’s rest’ on the roof, and the fitting of gutters with a little lion’s head on them.
Those involved are reluctant to discuss the cost of the work until the project is finished.
“What we are paying for is the quality of it,” Mr O’Boyle said.
“The rest will need some maintenance, but I am sure that it will last because of the quality of the work that has gone into it. There is no reason why it shouldn’t be around for another 130-years.”
Ms Twomey, who also oversaw the funding of the restoration of the landmark Mangan’s Clock on St Patrick’s St this year, said the cost of restoring heritage buildings or infrastructure must be balanced against the cultural and heritage value of the landmarks.
“People aren’t coming to Cork to look at the modern buildings. They’re coming for the story of old Cork and it’s important to invest in those things,” she said.
She points to recent research involving the city council and UCC’s economic department which assessed the economic value of the Cork Heritage Open Day event and found that for every €1 spent on the event, some €30 was generated for the city in terms of visitor spend.
“The cost of doing restoration work on these heritage pieces, whether it’s a building or a piece of infrastructure, generates so much more, particularly from a tourism perspective,” she said.
Retired Cork City firefighter and historian, Pat Poland, has been a tireless campaigner for the restoration of Cork's famous fireman’s rest, charting in great detail its fascinating history as an early example of a flat-pack building, and its quirky connection to the Rogers and Hammerstein classic, The King and I.
The author of the definitive history of the fire and rescue services in Cork city through three books, Mr Poland described it as “a genuine piece of Victoriana”.
In a special report to Cork City Council this year, he said: “For generations of Corkonians it was as well-known as the Berwick Fountain, Mangan’s Clock, or the National Monument. Almost from day one, it was never far from controversy; and it was detested by the firefighters".
To understand the rest, it's important to understand its context.
Cork Fire and Ambulance Brigade was established as a municipal entity in 1877, operating out of a central fire station on Sullivan’s Quay, with substations at Grattan Street and Shandon Street.
Unlike the larger cities of Dublin and Belfast, the Cork brigade had no motor pumps, relying instead on horse-drawn hose-reels that tapped directly into the city’s water mains.
These first fire appliances, little more than ‘pony and trap’ affairs, as Pat said, were incapable of carrying heavy rescue ladders and so the idea of mounting ladders on large wheels was mooted.
These ‘wheeled escape’ vehicles, some of which required up to five firefighters to operate, were deployed first in the city centre, but in time, the fleet was expanded so that one was stationed in the city wards - on Sullivan’s Quay, Grand Parade, St Luke’s Cross, Roman Street, Lavitt’s Quay, Sunday’s Well, Washington Street, Shandon Street, Henry Street, Rocksavage, Grattan Street, Blackpool, and St Patrick’s St.
When the alarm was raised, a section would turn out from the Sullivan’s Quay fire station, drop a firefighter off at the nearest wheeled escape to the address of the fire, and carry on to the scene. That lone firefighter would then recruit civilian helpers to push the wheeled escape to the fire. These helpers were given a voucher, which they redeemed at City Hall later for a few shillings.
After a bad fire, it was decided that the wheeled escape based in the city centre should be manned overnight, with a fireman on duty in an adjoining fireman’s rest.
The shelter was commissioned by the then Cork Corporation in early 1892, with city engineer, JF McMullen, tasked with designing a suitable shelter of a ‘light and ornate character’ at a cost not exceeding £60, Mr Poland said.
In his report, he said the shelter, to be known as the ‘fireman’s rest’ (the name was emblazoned along its roof on an iron scroll) was made by the famous ‘Saracen’ ironworks of Walter MacFarlane and Co based in Glasgow, Scotland, and became operational on Monday, May 9, 1892.
Cast iron panels formed the base of the rest, with several wrought iron or mild steel panels forming the top half of the structure. The panels were shipped to Cork, delivered ‘flat-pack style’ for assembly on-site.
“Uniquely, it had a direct telephone link both to the fire station and the chief’s residence; one of the few functioning telephones in Cork at that time. It also had the distinction of being one of the earliest prefabricated structures in Cork,” Mr Poland said.
Firefighters who were posted to duty in the rest were under strict instructions to not vacate their post or to close its door, whatever the weather.
“The watch-box is provided as a protection against inclement weather and must not be used by any other person,” the rules stipulated.
“The door must not be closed when the fireman is within, as he is expected to be vigilantly zealous for the preservation of life and ready to give immediate attendance whenever required.” The rest was initially located at the junction of Grand Parade and Great George’s Street (now Washington Street).
But in April 1893, a director of Alexander Grant’s department store lodged an objection with City Hall, complaining that it obstructed the view of their new shop front on the Grand Parade - now the site of the Capitol complex.
City Hall agreed to shift it 20-feet to the south — if Grant paid the cost, Mr Poland's research found.
But local residents said they were quite happy with its position, and a 12-month stand-off ensued, until, in March 1894, the authorities agreed to relocate the rest to Lavitt’s Quay, opposite the Opera House.
Writing in the service journal in February 1894, the city's fire chief, Capt Alfred J Hutson, described the ‘fireman’s rest’ as “very nicely fitted inside and out; in fact, I think it is one of the most comfortable outstations in the Kingdom”.
But firefighters disagreed, strongly, with fireman Timothy Ahern describing it as ‘the worst station in the city’.
They complained that the unheated shelter was injurious to their health and the iron walls ‘sweated’ due to the condensation of vapour, and that because they had to leave the door open overnight, they often finished night-duty “half-frozen from the cold”, Mr Poland said.
He discovered how a Mrs McCarthy, widow of firefighter McCarthy, claimed her husband died of pneumonia contracted while on duty in the ‘rest’. She was paid £5 compensation. And tragically, on the evening of Wednesday, November 17, 1897, fireman James Barry arrived at the ‘rest’ on Lavitt’s Quay to find the duty officer, Mark Wickham, 59, lying unconscious on the floor. He died later.
In December 1898, the Cork Electric Tramway Company came into operation, with a small ticket office at the Fr Mathew Statue on St Patrick’s St.
Following a fatal fire at Alcock’s shop, near SS Peter and Paul’s church, in November 1900, the company was asked if it would allow the duty firefighter the use of their ticket office from 11pm to 7am, with the wheeled escaped positioned at the statue overnight, and reverting to the ‘fireman’s rest’ on Lavitt’s Quay during the day.
The company agreed, and a firefighter began night-duty at the ticket office in February 1901.
In February 1904, the company agreed to facilitate the relocation of the ‘fireman’s rest’ from Lavitt’s Quay to St Patrick’s St where, as Mr Poland said, it “permanently supplanted the small ticket office”.
From then on, barring the tumultuous period between 1920 and 1930, when the wheeled escapes were removed from the city centre, the ‘fireman’s rest’ was used by the tramway personnel by day and the fire brigade by night.
When the city acquired its first escape-carrying fire engine in 1930, all the street-based wheeled escapes were withdrawn but the fireman’s rest on St Patrick’s St was left in situ, where it continued to be used by the tramway company until September 1931 when the trams were replaced by buses.
The rest was then used exclusively by CIE from 1931 to 2002, as a rest for bus drivers and conductors, serving as a canteen, a customer service office, and an unofficial lost and found office.
To the next generation, it became known as the ‘busmen’s hut’.
During his research, Mr Poland discovered a link between the fireman’s rest and the King of Siam, whose story inspired the 1944 Margaret Landon novel, Anna and the King of Siam, upon which the 1956 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I, starring Yul Brenner and Deborah Kerr, is based.
McFarlane’s, which built the rest, created the exquisite ironwork of King Mongkut’s Grand Palace. The king’s grandson, motor racing legend Prince Bira, also took second place in the 1938 Cork Grand Prix motor race event in a Maserati around a six-mile 30-lap circuit around Carrigrohane in April 1938.