The difference between the municipal and suburban boundary of Cork city is shown e.g. here on the 1st-edition 6-inch map (SHEET 74, surveyed 1 Jan 1841, published 19 July 1845). The municipal boundary was subject to the municipal corporation, whereas the suburban boundary was defined for the purposes of certain acts,

I think Parliamentary elections, although the 6-inch map had a separate "Parliamentary boundary" coloured violet around other boroughs.
NO as a county borough, the parl bdy was the county of the city; preserved by 1832 act.[1]

Thompson 1843 has this...

Prior to the passing of the late Municipal Act, Cork was divided into a City and Liberties, the City was separated from the Liberties by Suburb Stones, which defined what was commonly denominated, the ,s City of Cork," the old liberties extended 12 Miles from North to South, and nearly 9 Miles from East to West, embracing an area of 70 Square miles, and were separated from the County by certain marks; comprising within their limits what has been termed the " County of the City of Cork." Since the passing of the above Act, Cork has become a Borough," and certain portions of the liberties have merged into its limits, the remaining parts are attached to the County, and have become a separate Barony within themselves.

...which explains the discrepancy but not why the OS bothers to mark both lines;

  • one possibility is that the map was prepared BEFORE the change and revised AFTER it, making it easier to keep the obsolete line than erase it;
  • alternatively, maybe the suburb remains the parliamentary line, although why then was it not called that and marked in violet?
    • maybe it was simple error/inconsistency
    • maybe it has other functions as well as parliamentary

Municipal Corporations Boundaries (Ireland) 1837 has:

The Suburbs having extended much beyond the City, with which they are Suburbs. connected by several Bridges, their Limits, for the purposes of local taxation, were defined by the Act 53 Geo. III. c. 3. Since then, however, they have spread out beyond these limits in every direction, but more particularly towards the East.
The Boundary of the entire County of the City of Cork extends in its greatest Liberties, length 12 miles from North to South, and nearly nine miles from East to West, embracing an area of about 70 square miles, or about 45,000 statute acres, of which barely four square miles are occupied by the City and Suburbs, while the remainder of the space belongs essentially to a rural district.
The Local Rate, by which is meant a sum raised in the City and Suburbs alone ... The County Rate, which is collected from the whole Borough [sic]

But neither 53 Geo. 3 c.3 nor 53 Geo. 3 c.iii is relevant, it's actually 53 Geo. 3 c.cxi which was mistranscribed 111 -> iii -> 3.

An Act for the more equal Assessment of Money presented to be raised by the Grand Jury of the County of the City of Cork; for a new Valuation of the said City and Survey of the Liberties thereof; and for other Purposes relative to Grand Juries

Preamble to 6 May 1842 Bill recites relevant earlier acts:

And whereas by an Act passed in the fifty-third year of the reign of his late Majesty King GEORGE the Third, intituled, “ An Act for the more equal Assessment of Money presented to be raised by the Grand Jury of the County of the City of Cork, and for a new Valuation of the said City and Survey of the Liberties thereof, and for other Purposes relative to Grand Juries,” it was enacted, that certain boundaries therein specified should be the boundaries and limits between the suburbs and liberties of the city of Cork, and that all houses and other premises, as specified therein, being within the city and suburbs of Cork, should be charged with Two-thirds of all such money as should be presented to be raised by the Grand Jury at every Assizes to be holden for the county of the said city, and that the remaining One third of the said money should be applotted and raised upon and from the several town-lands of the liberties of the said city; and that dwelling-houses under the annual value of Five Pounds, and premises whilst waste and untenanted, should not be charged with any portion of the public money so presented to be raised

Sec 5: "Boundaries of Borough of Cork to be Boundaries of County of the City of Cork.":

And be it Declared and Enacted, That for all purposes of Grand Jury Presentments the boundaries of the county of the citv of the borough of Cork shall be the boundaries of the county of the city of Cork, and that for such purposes the distinctions hereinbefore mentioned in relation to the city, suburbs and liberties of Cork, shall cease and be and be deemed to be no longer in force, save only as to Presentments to be made under the provisions of this Act by the members of the Grand Jury who have served at the said Spring Assizes, or a Majority of their members; and all sums of money which shall from time to time be presented to be raised, or which shall under the provisions of this Act be raised off the city and suburbs of Cork, or off the county of the city of Cork, shall be applotted, collected and levied upon the same respectively, according to the relative annual value of the several sub-denominations of the lands and tenements within the boundaries appointed for the said city and suburbs of the said borough, according to the valuation of each such tenement and portion of land as contained in the rate which shall have been then last made in that behalf, under the Act or Acts for the relief of the destitute poor in Ireland

Aha, 1838 minutes qq.27-32 give the answer; 1832 Boundary Act makes County of City the parliamentary boundary (dunno what it was before) so "suburb" is only for 1813 tax.

Commissioners on Municipal Corporations in Ireland:

The Grand Jury cess, except the sum of £3,200 a-year, presented for lighting the city, which is levied off the city and suburbs only, is, assessed, under the 53 George III c. 111. two-thirds on the city and suburbs, and the remaining one-third on the rest of the county of the city. It is generally admitted, that this distribution of the rates is unjust, in respect that certain parts of the city, as built on, are without the city and suburbs, according to the limits for the purpose of taxation; and houses, there, are consequently only applotted for one-third, whilst tenements of much inferior value and belonging to the poorer classes, within the city, are subject to the applotment of two-thirds. The Applotment of the two-thirds on the city and suburbs is made according to the value of the premises, all houses of less annual value than £5 being exempt; houses let out in rooms are also exempt, under the local Act, 53 Geo. III, c. 111, an indulgence which was, represented to us to have the effect, merely of enabling the landlord to charge a higher rent, and not of serving, in any manner, the poor occupants. Returns of the houses so let are made to the grand jury, at each assizes, by the churchwardens and two constat) appointed for each parish, and also of waste and untenanted houses

So was there a formal distinction between the "city" and the "suburbs"? The 1813 publication of earlier charter and bye-laws never mentions "suburbs" except conjoined to "city".

Council book gives clues as to suburbs:

  • 1772 (p.877):
In pursuance of an act passed 11 and 12 of his present Majys reign entitled an Act for the regulation of the City of Cork, &c., we, the Mayor, &c, do fix 800 lamps with single burners and good wicks, and we fix 2U0 lamps in the parish of Holy Trinity, 139 in the parish of S. Peter, 78 in the parish of S. Paul, 223 in the parishes of S. Mary Shandon and S. Ann and the suburbs belonging, 122 in the parishes of S. Finbarry and S. Nicholas and suburbs belonging, 38 in the Main Street, on posts between the North and South gate

Also mentions "North Suburbs".

"south suburbs" mentioned here seems equivalent to "south liberties":[2]

And whereas the parish of Saint Nicholas in the south suburbs of the city of Cork is so small, and the bounds thereof are so intermixed with other small contiguous parishes or parts of the said south liberties; called and described by the name of parishes; and in which no church is or can be built; that no provision can be made for the support of a clergyman to officiate in the church now built in the said parish of Saint Nicholas,' nor even to repair the said church, and in which on that account there has been no divine service for some time, and said church is danger of going to ruin: and whereas the inhabitants of the parishes or parts of the south liberties, called by these names : (viz.) Saint Bridget's, Saint John's of Jerusalem, Saint Nicholas, Saint Stephen's, Saint Mary's, Saint Dominick's, have at present no church to resort to for the publick worship of God: for remedy whereof, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the bishop of Cork, with the approbation of the archbishop of the province, the consent of the dean and chapter of the cathedral of Saint Finbarry; Cork; and the consent of the majority of the inhabitants of the adjacent and contiguous parishes of Saint Nicholas, Saint Bridget's; Saint John's of Jerusalem, Saint Stephen's, Saint Mary's; Saint Dominick's, or of these parts of the south suburbs of the city of Cork, called and known by these names assembled in vestry in Saint Nicholas church (eight days notice of such vestry being posted on the doors of the said church) may for ever unite all or any of the parishes of Saint Bridget's, Saint John's of Jerusalem, Saint Stephen's, Saint Mary's, ...

Also note that the OS 6-inch map shows the limit between townland and no-townland areas as being the Suburb Boundary, not the Municipal boundary; thus there are some townland portions WITHIN the municipal boundary, and some areas outside the municipal boundary but not in any townland. The 25-inch map zaps all townland boundaries WITHIN the municipal boundary, and [at least one] area outside the municipal boundary has been annexed to the adjoining townland (Croghta-more).


1843 6&7 Vict. c. 32 s.14

And whereas Part of the County of the City of Cork as bounded under the Provisions of the herein-before recited Acts [3&4 Vict cc. 108, 109; 5&6 Vict. c. 77] of Her present Majesty's Reign, is within the Provisions of a Local Act [not named, and no marginal ref!] made for lighting, paving, cleansing and improving thereof, and other Part is not within the Provisions of such Local Act, but is, neverthdess, under the said recited Act passed in the last Session of Parliament, liable to contribute to the Payment of the Money to be raised for lighting, paving, cleansing, and improving the Portion of such County within the Provisions of such Local Act;
be it therefore enacted, That
it shall be lawful for the Council of the said Borough of Cork to make an Order that the Part of such Borough not within the Provisions of such Local Act shall, from and after a certain Day to be named in such Order, be taken to be within the Provisions of such Local Act for lighting, paving, cleansing, and improving such Borough; and after such Day such Part as aforesaid shall be within the Provisions of such Act, as fully as if such Part had been originally named in such Act, any thing in such Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding

Wards edit

Holt's 1832 map has "suburb boundary" as dashed line (overlaid in green). The fact the the title of the map is "Plan of the city and suburbs" would suggest the map should include the entire suburbs, but it certainly does not include the entire county of the city. Also 16 numbered divisions (wards?) with numbers (grey) and bounds (buff) hand-drawn, possibly at a later date. But the 1837 Municipal Corporations Boundaries gives only 8 proposed wards (text and Map 2); and the wards (and parishes) of the OS 6-in and 25-in do not correspond to Holt's 16 divisions.

Mun. Com. Rpt. p.216 §37 suggests there used to be 6 wards, and fallen into disuse:

The six Aldermen of the Ward are elected from amongst the aldermen, under the charter of Charles I., by the freemen at large, in a Court of D'Oyer Hundred, held for the purpose when a vacancy occurs. They hold the office for life. They were formerly elected each for a specific ward, with jurisdiction to hear and determine all causes between party and party, under 40s, arising within their respective wards; but the distinction of wards having been lost in course of time, and the aldermen of the ward having each usurped a jurisdiction throughout the whole county of the city, an Act of Parliament, passed in the 3d Geo. III., confirmed the practice which had so crept in, and granted each of them jurisdiction over the entire county of the city.

These are shown on 1837 Map 1.

References edit

  • Charter and by-laws of the City of Cork: the different oaths of the different municipal officers, the rights and franchises conferred on the city, thro' the corporation of the staple; The duties imposed on the officers of that corporation, regulations made in a court of D'Oyer Hundred ... Cork: W. West & Co. 1813. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  • Caulfield, Richard (1876). The council book of the Corporation of the city of Cork, from 1609 to 1643, and from 1690 to 1800. Guildford, Surrey: Printed by J Billing. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  • Thompson, Charles (1843). "Key to map and borough of Cork". The County and city of Cork almanac, calculated & adapted by C. Thompson. pp. v–vii. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  • Municipal Corporations Boundaries (Ireland) (1837). "Cork". Report. Reports from Commissioners. Vol. XXIX. p. 47.
  • "BILL To provide for Difficulties in respect of the Assessment of Grand Jury Presentments in the County of the City of Cork.". Parliamentary Papers: 1780-1849. H.M. Stationery Office. 1842. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  • Select Committee on Fictitious Votes, Ireland (1838). "Minutes of evidence". First Report. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES SEVENTEEN VOLUMES. p. 2.
  • Commissioners on Municipal Corporations in Ireland (1835). "City of Cork". Appendix to the First Report ...: Southern, midland, western and south-eastern circuits, and part of the north-eastern circuit. pp. 38–39 s.70. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  • Holt, Thomas (1833). "Plan of the city and suburbs of Cork". Cork: logainm.ie. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  • Larcom, Thomas (1832). "Map of the County of the City of Cork". Retrieved 30 May 2016. not sure this is 1832; "proposed boundary" suggests more likely later.
  1. ^ Lewis, Samuel (1837). "Appendix DESCRIBING THE ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES OF THE SEVERAL BOROUGHS, AS DEFINED BY THE ACT OF THE 2d & 3d OF WILLIAM IV". Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ^ Ireland; Butler, James Goddard; Ball, William (1765). "25 Geo.III c.23 s.10". The Statutes at Large, Passed in the Parliaments Held in Ireland: From the twenty-third year of George the Second, A.D. 1749, to the first year of George the Third, A.D. 1761 inclusive. Printed by Boulter Grierson. p. 253. Retrieved 20 November 2015.