Foster Place
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parliament Row | |
 Facing south towards Dame Street | |
 Interactive map of Foster Place | |
| Native name | Plás Foster (Irish) |
|---|---|
| Former name | Turnstile Alley (until circa 1780) |
| Part of | Temple Bar |
| Namesake | John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel |
| Location | Dublin, Ireland |
| Postal code | D02 |
| Coordinates | 53°20′42″N 6°15′40″W / 53.34487°N 6.26113°W |
| South end | Dame Street |
| Construction | |
| Construction start | 1780s |
| Completion | 1820s |
| Other | |
| Designer | Richard Johnston |
| Known for | Georgian architecture Parliament House |
Foster Place (Irish: Plás Foster)[1] is a Georgian street in Dublin, Ireland, laid out by the Wide Streets Commissioners in the 1780s to coincide with the new western wing and extension of Parliament House and a new entrance for the House of Commons. It replaced a narrow lane named Turnstile Alley which had been in the same location and connected at the rear of Parliament house to Parliament Row and ultimately to Fleet Street.[2]
The lane was also intersected to its west by Blackmore Yard which connected with Anglesea Street and extended to Cope Street. This was later blocked off entirely in the early 19th century.
As of 2025, the street is a cul-de-sac covered with setts and connects only with Dame Street and College Green.
The street is clearly marked but left unnamed at the time of Charles Brooking's map of Dublin (1728). It is later annotated as Turnstile Alley on John Rocque's maps of 1756-60 where it extends fully to connect with Temple Bar at Fleet Street. It appears that for parts of the 18th century, it was also referred to as Parliament Row.[3]
The street was renamed for John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel, who served three times as Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and was also the last Speaker of the Irish House of Commons before its dissolution in 1800.[4]
All of the current buildings on the street were designed by either Francis Johnston or Richard Johnston with the exception of the wing and extension of Parliament House which was designed by James Gandon although this may have had some input also from Robert Parke before his death in 1792. Substantial elements of all original Georgian buildings remain to the current day.
The original masterplan for the street in the files of the Wide Streets Commissioners was completed by Richard Johnston.
By the time of Thom's Alamanac of 1862, the buildings were in possession of a variety of professional services practitioners including solicitors, notaries, stockbrokers and bankers.[5]
