Help a nosey person please

jos28

I pass this house on my way to work everyday and it brings out the nosey part of me. It's a stunning building, I'd love to know more about it. It must have a history, stories to tell. How old is it ? Was it built as a residence ? Who built it, who lived there.........
See, told ya I was nosey.

I would have guessed at it being built late 19th/ early 20th century. I couldn't find it on 1901 or 1911 census. All I could find was an old twitter thread. Any more knowledgeable people out there that could point me in the right direction

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/29+Victoria+Rd,+Clontarf+East,+Dublin+3,+D03+Y2V0/@53.3625854,-6.2109028,3a,75y,11h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sf3BcU5O3fxdb1P6XT7v1kw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Df3BcU5O3fxdb1P6XT7v1kw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D392%26h%3D106%26yaw%3D11.795784%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x48670fabbf6f5099:0xfd46b1b1ee47ad02!8m2!3d53.3627422!4d-6.2108346!6m1!1e1

The Diddakoi

http://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/homes/carefully-restored-redbrick-in-clontarf-26683482.html

If that's a neighbouring house, it says it dates from the 1900's.

kildarejohn

I think the house in question - 29 Victoria Rd - is in fact there on the 1911 census, but was no.1. ( nos. in census are often different from modern nos.) Checking the 12" map on osi.ie confirms that this house was the first on the road (going left to right) at that time. The House and Buildings return form lists it as having 8 windows, the house in your pic has much more, but perhaps there was a rule whereby a bay window with 3 sides was counted as 1.
Assuming I have the right house, then the occupier was Robert Russell and family, and he gave his occupation as Fellow of TCD. Searching the TCD website reveals that Russell was Mathematics professor in 1917.

So who knows, maybe there are interesting stories about the house, but I leave it to someone else to come up with stories of what the mathematician got up to in his big house.

jos28

kildarejohn wrote: »

I think the house in question - 29 Victoria Rd - is in fact there on the 1911 census, but was no.1. ( nos. in census are often different from modern nos.) Checking the 12" map on osi.ie confirms that this house was the first on the road (going left to right) at that time. The House and Buildings return form lists it as having 8 windows, the house in your pic has much more, but perhaps there was a rule whereby a bay window with 3 sides was counted as 1.
Assuming I have the right house, then the occupier was Robert Russell and family, and he gave his occupation as Fellow of TCD. Searching the TCD website reveals that Russell was Mathematics professor in 1917.

So who knows, maybe there are interesting stories about the house, but I leave it to someone else to come up with stories of what the mathematician got up to in his big house.

Well I'm astounded by your research skills, fair play to you. Very impressive !
Mathematics Professors must have been on serious salaries back then
Perhaps there was family money knocking around. Did he fill all those rooms with paying students. Well done Kildare John

Jellybaby1

jos28 wrote: »

I pass this house on my way to work everyday and it brings out the nosey part of me. ....

Interesting post. This happens to me a lot. There is one building around the Chapelizod area I've often wondered about but haven't been able to stop the car near enough to get a picture. I'd love if this thread were to continue with more enquiries. However, residents might be unhappy about it.

jos28

Good point JB, it would be a great idea for a thread. You never know, the residents might be delighted