Group calls for new Cork city bridge to be named after historic Georgian villa

The Grange Frankfield Partnership said with the once-glorious 1780’s-built property now in ruin, the city has an obligation to commemorate it

A computer-generated image of what the new pedestrian and cycle bridge from the Grange Road to Tramore Valley Park will look like. According to the guidelines for the bridge naming, the name should honour a significant event, individual or group, or reflect important local features or geographical location, and proposals to commemorate living persons will not be considered.

A group that campaigned for over a decade for the preservation of what was once one of Ireland’s great Georgian villas before it fell derelict and was gutted by fire has called for public support to name a new pedestrian bridge after historic Vernon Mount House.

The Grange Frankfield Partnership (GFP) said with the once-glorious 1780’s-built property now in ruin, the city has an obligation to commemorate it as it urged people to make a submission to Cork City Council's public naming process.

The soon-to-be-installed bridge over the N40 will link Tramore Valley Park via a new cycling path to the Grange Road, which runs close to Vernon Mount House. GFP spokesman, Ger Lehane, said the fire in the house in July 2016 “put a brutal end” to their efforts.

“A lot of history, and hope, went up in that fire,” he said. “What remains physically is iconic in its own desolate way, as the ruined structure presides prominently over Tramore Valley Park.

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“What remains may be beyond preservation, but our city fathers have an opportunity, as well as an obligation, to see that its place in Cork’s history, and particularly local history, is preserved in the impending naming of the bridge.” 

The GFP, which was formed in 2010 to explore opportunities arising out of the multi-million remediation of Cork city’s former landfill as Tramore Valley public park, had two key objectives — to campaign for the preservation of Vernon Mount House, a protected structure, and to campaign for a connection from the Grange Road to Tramore Valley Park.

It wrote to the then National Roads Authority promoting the value and benefits of a bridge link to the park, a proposal the NRA said had merit, and it engaged with Cork County Council.

The burnt out remains of Vernon Mount House. GFP spokesman, Ger Lehane, said: “A lot of history, and hope, went up in that fire.” Picture: Larry Cummins

It even worked with SECAD to clear dense undergrowth in the Vernon Mount Valley to reveal the potential behind the bridge proposal.

In 2017, the county council began a Part 8 planning process for a pedestrian/cycleway bridge over the N40 but following the city boundary extension in 2019, the city council took over the project.

Meanwhile, Vernon Mount House itself was acquired by a US-based Irish-born investor and it fell into dereliction.

In its efforts to save the property, GFP engaged with the Irish Georgian Society, which was instrumental in having Vernon Mount placed on the World Monuments Fund List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in 2008, the US Georgian Society Inc, and a meeting in Ireland with the directors and custodians of George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia.

It led to a €175,000 investment in roof repairs by Cork County Council but despite repeated warnings from the GFP about the risk to the property, the building was gutted in a suspected arson attack in July 2016. The remains of the house were placed on the city’s derelict sites register in 2020.

The soon-to-be-installed bridge over the N40 will link Tramore Valley Park via a new cycling path to the Grange Road, which runs close to Vernon Mount House. Picture: Larry Cummins.

Mr Lehane said: “It is generally accepted that heritage is a keystone to our culture, and we fear that failure to understand and adopt the opportunities presented in our proposal, is to consign a significant chapter of our heritage and history to oblivion.” 

According to the guidelines for the bridge naming, the name should honour a significant event, individual or group, or reflect important local features or geographical location, and proposals to commemorate living persons will not be considered.

Separately, a Part 8 planning process for a short link from Alden Estate to the new bridge is underway.

Submissions on the bridge naming must be made by logging on to consult.corkcity.ie by 4pm on April 28. GFP tells the story of Vernon Mount House at vernonmountpark.ie.