Foster Place

Foster Place 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.^[1]

Foster Place

Facing South towards Dame Street
Native name	Plás Foster (Irish)
Former name(s)	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
South end	Dame Street
Construction
Construction start	1780s
Completion	1820s
Other
Designer	Richard Johnston
Known for	Georgian architecture, Parliament House

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 and connects only with Dame Street and College Green.

History

The street is named 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.^[2]

All of the 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 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.^[3]

List of buildings on the street

Building	Year constructed	Architect	Older image	Modern Image	Status	Notes
The Armoury	1808-11	Francis Johnston			Protected Structure	Constructed as the guard house and armoury for the bank and later the offices of the Currency Commission and in recent years bought by the Irish Stock Exchange.[4]
Daly's Club	1789-90	Richard Johnston			Protected Structure	Both of the wings of the original Daly's clubhouse building have now been demolished and reconstructed on two separate occasions in the 19th and 20th centuries. The central element remains with an additional roof story. It was originally opened with a grand dinner on 16 February 1791.
Stamp and Imprint Offices	1790-91	Richard Johnston			Protected Structure	Built as the Stamp and Imprint office but never appears to have been used as such as it moved to Powerscourt House in 1811 from its previous location on Eustace Street. It was later used partially by Daly's Club and the Hibernian United Services Club before being used as a branch of the Royal Bank of Ireland which was later subsumed into AIB.
5 and 6 Foster Place	1821	Francis Johnston			Protected Structure	Twin houses and the last buildings constructed on the street broadly to the original masterplan design of Richard Johnston although apparently executed by his brother Francis for the Bank of Ireland.[5]
West wing of Parliament House	1782-89	James Gandon			Protected Structure	The earliest and grandest structure on the street is the western wing and entrance to Parliament House being an addition by James Gandon to Edward Lovett Pearce's earlier masterpiece.[6]

External links

Wide Streets Commissioners documents

• Map of Foster Place as laid out
• Elevations of Daly's Club and Imprest Office
• Elevation of Daly's Club

National Library of Ireland

• A view South towards Dame Street circa 1900
• A view North towards the armoury circa 1900
• A view South towards Dame Street pre 1867