The Huguenots and the Tenters – a richly woven history

The Huguenots was a name given to 16th century French Protestants who fled across Europe. Maria O’Reilly, a local historian who lives in the Tenters, has a Huguenot background: her paternal grandmother’s family, who worked as silk weavers. Like many other Huguenots, they settled in Weaver Square way back in the 1600s.

O’Reilly told the Liberty that the Huguenots were invited to Ireland by the Duke of Ormond, having been persecuted in France for their religious beliefs. As they were Protestant, it was seen as a way of increasing the Protestant population, as well as stimulating the economy.

She adds that “although the weaving industry was already established, the Huguenots enhanced the existing industry by introducing more refined skills, using materials such as silk, poplin and linen”. Irish poplin, which could be made from either fine wool or silk, was particularly sought after and was exported far and wide.

The area became known as the Tenters because the site originally housed tenter fields.  Tenters were big wooden posts, standing upright and alongside them were horizontal rows of posts, which had hooks attached. After the cloths were washed, dyed and bleached, they were then stretched width and length ways along the hooks to help the drying process. This is where the term tenting comes from because when the wind blew, they looked like tents. The saying “on tenterhooks” comes from this practice associated with the weaving process. The area comprised 20 acres approximately.

Unlike Catholics, the Huguenots, could own business and properties.

In its heyday their weaving industry is estimated to have employed more than 20,000 people.

A great addition and help to weavers in drying of the cloths was the construction of the tenters stove house in Cork Street, built in 1814 and financed by Thomas Pleasants, a property developer and philanthropist.  It was a four-storey building, which contained four large furnaces, which meant the heat would rise up through the building.  This allowed the weavers work in all weather conditions.

The building, is now reimagined, and is part of the Sophia Housing complex.

Sadly, by the early 1800s the weaving industry, which had been a sought-after trade for nearly 200 years, went into decline, and eventually collapsed. This was as a result of British government policy which introduced laws to limit the export of woollen cloth from Ireland in order to make sure the counterpart British industry did not suffer.

The story of weaving is kept alive by the Liberties Weavers (off St Luke’s Ave). This is a project run by volunteers who organise workshops and exhibitions in schools and in the local community.

The history of the Huguenots lives on in some of the names in the area such as Weaver Square, Ormond Street, (named after the Duke of Ormond), Cow parlour, which is a corruption of a French term, hem cutter (coupeur d’ourlet). Marrowbone Lane (Marie la Bonne) and Malpas Street.

As well as being known for their skills in textiles, The Huguenots were also known for watchmaking and finance. The La Touche family were one of the first banking families in Ireland, and their name lives on in Greystones with the La Touche hotel and surrounding area.

There are a number of Huguenot cemeteries in Dublin, the one closest to the Tenters is known as the Cabbage Field, Dublin 8 near St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  David La Touche, who was a shrewd banker, is believed to have been buried there in 1745. However, the better-known one is located on Merrion Row and is maintained by Dublin City Council.   

But what is it like to live in the Tenters these days?

A local resident, Ms Yvonne Colucci, told the Liberty, “In the last 12 years, there have been a lot of changes, mostly for the better. The area has a younger population now and has become more gentrified with a combination of renovations of the old and some new builds. She says contact with people is easy. “There is a friendliness that was particularly notable during the pandemic.  People were out on the street chatting with each other, which was a lifeline for people who lived alone”.

Ms Colucci’s biggest regret with all the new changes in the area is the loss of the market in Newmarket Square, which sold anything from health foods to furniture, and was a great way to meet people at the weekends. This area now houses Teelings Distillery and further down the road is student accommodation, which she feels would have been better served as private housing, rather than the transient nature of student accommodation.