3(58 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[November, 



~OW vrr 0/ ~ 7 ~ // ' £ " C/7" 



COR* 



COP K 



AB, bar! of proposed line of railway from Cork to Cove. DH, oM purl of navigation wall, commenced in 1761. UK new part of navigatwn wall, buill 

 about 1835. ccvi, proposed jetties for sluicing. -- -- Dotted lines denote the direction ol ihe proposed ne* channel, R, Blackrock C a stl e . 1.. Son Lodge- 



only obstruction of any note (if such it can be called) is the Harbour 

 Rock, which is a pinnacle of such small dimensions as to be easily 

 removed by blasting : accidents are, however, of such very rare occur- 

 rence, as to render such a precaution unnecessary. The soundings 

 outside the mouth of this harbour are so regular, as to enable ships to 

 run for it in thick or foggy weather by using the load, an advantage 

 which Waterford does not possess, the entrance being very rocky, ami 

 the soundings consequently irregular. The accommodation which 

 Cork is capable of affording is great beyond conception, as nmnv as 

 500 sail of vessels having frequently enjoyed its shelter. Its store- 

 houses are on an extensive scale, occupying the greater portion of the 

 Island of Haulboluie. The most interesting part of the subject, how- 

 ever, in an engineering point of view, is the river, which it may be 

 advisable to pass on to, rather than dwell upon the advantages which 

 nature has so lavishly b'-stowed on this harbour. 



The River Lee, the subject of the present memoir, rises on tin' Con- 

 fines of an adjoining county (that of Kerrv), at a considerable distance 

 from Cork. It does not, however, become of sufficient importance to 

 be considered in connexion with the navigation until it approaches a 

 large weir within a mile of the city, which has been erected for the 

 purpose of damming up the river, the town Lting supplied with water 

 from this place, which, as may be expected, has the effect of doing the 

 navigation considerable injury. The river is here divided into two 

 branches, which do not again unite until they reach the Custom House, 

 a part of which is marked on the accompanying plan, D. Before pro- 

 ceeding to describe what has been effected in the deepening of the 

 channel by the dredging operations constantly going on, it may be 

 useful to take a cursory glance of the various proposals which were 

 made to improve the navigation. The first attempt worthy of note 

 appears to be the building of an embankment or wall, marked DH, for 

 which the Irish parliament advanced .t'-lOUH in 17(>1. It w is erected 

 for the purpose of confining the flood waters of the Lee, and in this 

 way it was expected to keep the river from filling up. However well 

 it may have preserved that portion of the channel along which it was 

 formed, it appears to have done so at the expense of otlMt parts, for 

 large deposits of mud were constantly taking place below it ; and the 

 navigation was becoming so much obstructed from shoals, that it was 

 found necessary to consult Mr. Alexander Niromo, and to invite him 

 to report upon the best means of remedying the increasing evils. 

 Accordingly we find this eminent engineer, in ISIS, complying with 

 this request by making a most elaborate survey of the river, accom- 

 panied with a report. 



The principal works suggested by him appear to have consisted in 

 forming a still-water navigation, one end of which was to have termi- 

 nated in ths deep water of Lough Mahou, below Black-rock Castle ; 

 the other at some waste land near the Custom House, which he pro- 

 posed forming into wet docks, for which purpose the locality appeared 

 to offer peculiar advantages. The expense of such an undertaking 

 (about £160,000) at a time when the funds of the corporation were 

 by no means great, was most probably the cause of this proposition 

 not being adopted. It has not been marked on the accompanying 

 sketch, tearing that it might have become confused from the small- 

 ness of the scale. It was likewise intended that the present channel 

 should have beeu deepened by dredging so as to admit vessels of 

 greater burthen to come to the quays. He was also of opinion that 



the building of an embankment at the north side of the channel, where 

 it bends towards the King's Quay, would have been most beneficial. 

 The position of this wall would be well represented by supposing the 

 present embankment, HE, removed to tin' other side of the channel. 

 There can be no doubt that such a work would have been most advan- 

 tageous to the navigation, as the current on the ebb setting in the 

 direction of this embankment would have the effect of materially deep- 

 ening the channel. It would also afford an opportunity of reclaiming 

 nearly 200 acres of waste slab, which, from its proximity to the city, 

 would, in course of time, become valuable property, and handsomely 

 repay the expenses incurred. From its running parallel and close to 

 the channel, ves>els could have used it as a towing-path until they 

 came up as far as the old wall, DH. It is much to be regretted th.il 

 Mr. Nimmo's recommendation in this particular was not followed: 

 expense in the present case cannot be pleaded as an excuse, as we 

 find the harbour commissioners building such an embankment, HE, 

 but unfortunately at the wrong side of the channel. It would require 

 no very great amount of foresight to perceive that the erection of 

 such a work in such a situation would have been attended with the 

 most injurious consequences to the navigation. This does not appear, 

 however, to have occurred to the Cork Harbour commissioners ; for a 

 line of railway from Cork to Passage being then in contemplation, we 

 find them proposing to continue this wall for the purpose of carrying 

 the railway over it; the projectors of which, it would appear, consi- 

 dered the rnluay oj much more importance that the navigation of the 

 river. The scheme, however, not succeeding, the wall was not 

 finished, and in this condition it now remains, a monument of disgrace 

 to its projectors. 



About the same time a railway was proposed from Cork to Cove, 

 a part of which is marked AB on the plan. The promoters of this 

 speculation appear to have had the improvement of the river more at 

 heart, for ttind in the report a plan proposed for the improvement 

 of the nav igation by Mr. M'Neil, in which the subject is treated 

 with his usual ability. The principal improvements consisted in cut- 

 ting a new channel, as represented by the parallel dotted lines, from 

 the Custom House to Black-rock Castle ; this would be nearly a 

 straight line; and it was intended that the embankment for the rail- 

 way should have formed a great portion of its northern boundary, to 

 which might have been added a towing-path for the accommodation 

 of vessels. It may be well to premise that this new channel was to be 

 cut entirely through the slab, which consisted of a material well suited 

 for filling up the embankment. The works were thus to be carried oul 

 in concert, each being made subservient to the other, and the expense 

 would have necessarily become in this way very much reduced. Tin- 

 part of the wall represented as being cut in two places by the new 

 channel, and which it would have been necessary to remove, would 

 have gone towards forming a barrier at H. The northern boundary 

 of the channel would, under this arrangement, have been well defined. 

 At the south side it will be seen that there is a great extent of slab, 

 probably from 300 to 400 acres in extent, over which the tide ebbs 

 and flows twice in every 24 hours. This vast body of water, which 

 may be regarded as the possession of a power of great value, was pro- 

 posed to be usefully employed by scouring the channel : this was to 

 be effected by building jetties (marked CCC, &c, on the plan), over 

 which the water was to flow at every half tide, which, returning on 



