Dublin City Cess Book, 1647-49 [DCLA/MR/16]
Contains accounts of payments received under a weekly cess (or assessment) levied by a committee of the Dublin City Assembly, consisting of the Mayor, Sheriffs, Aldermen and four members of the Common Council, on the inhabitants of the city and liberties of Dublin. This cess was levied under a contract between the City Assembly and Colonel Michael Jones, Cromwellian Governor of Dublin, under which the city undertook to pay him £463 weekly (later reduced to £400 weekly) as a loan to pay for supplies for his army of occupation. (See Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin, III, pp 455-6). The data in the Cess Book is laid out on a weekly basis, entered parish by parish, giving the names of inhabitants and the amount paid by each. Payments are as made to the Dublin City Assembly. The Cess Book also contains cess for fire and candlelight, levied by the Dublin City Assembly in August 1649, which is included in this Dublin Directory. This cess was paid by 117 persons, resident in the parishes of St. Michael, St. Nicholas Within the Walls, St. Audoen, St. John and in Christ Church Yard.
The Cess Book also contains weekly returns of payment to the Dublin City Assembly of impost for the grinding of malt and retailing of ale, for the period 3 March 1647/8 to 5 August 1648 and this data is included in this Dublin Directory. This impost was paid by 96 persons, of whom 13 were women, with four of these returned as widows, while the marital status of the remaining women is not given. Entries are either by parish or by street and the same impost was usually paid by everyone in a parish or a street. The amounts paid varied from parish to parish with people in St. Audoen's parish paying £6-0s-0d sterling weekly, while Catherine Coyle of St. Kevin's street paid £0-0s-6d weekly. No reason is given for the variations in impost paid - it may have related to the size of the business and/or the quality of the ale sold.
Cess Book of DublinDublin City Census, 1660-61 [RIA]
The 'Census of Dublin' is part of a wider 'Census of Ireland'. It is not a census of population but rather it is an abstract of poll-tax returns for 1660-61. Accordingly it only records the names of persons who were liable for poll tax and sometimes their occupations. The data for Dublin is laid out by parish and by street within each parish. For this Directory, the data has been entered from 'The Census of Dublin 1659' published in J.T. Gilbert (ed.) Calendar of Ancient Records of Dublin, vol. IV appendix IV, pp 560-71 (Dublin, 1894). Dublin City Pipe Water Accounts [DCLA/MR/36]
From the early 13th century onwards, the Dublin City Assembly was responsible for the provision of piped water to the city's householders, who paid an annual charge for the service. Collection of the pipe water levies was usually farmed out to contractors who kept their own accounts, but these have not survived. The surviving Pipe Water Accounts relate to the years when the City Assembly collected the charge and these are entered into the Dublin City Treasurer's Account Book. Data is entered parish-by-parish for the years 1680 and 1681 and street-by-street for 1694, 1705 and 1706.
The Pipe Water Accounts for 1680 [fol. 404-8] are detailed, since they record the purpose for which water was supplied; of a total of 303 entries the vast majority were supplied with water for private or domestic use. Thirty people needed water for brewing, distilling or related purposes; of these, two are described as distillers; ten as brewers; thirteen as ale-brewers; three as conducting brewing and malting; and two as carrying out malting alone. Of the thirteen ale-brewers, seven were widows, so also was one of the distillers. A total of eight entries in the accounts can be identified as relating to taverns or inns. Stabling was the stated purpose in two instances and there was one bleaching yard and one dyer. Only 27 women were entered into the 1680 accounts, of whom 25 were widows, including Lady Bellingham, widow of Dublin's first Lord Mayor, Sir Daniel Bellingham. The basic rate of payment was £1-0s-0d for private use, and this amount was also paid by taverns. Water for distilling cost £2-10s and the cost to brewers was between £1-10s and £6-10s. Note however that only southside parishes are included, since water-supply did not then extend across the River Liffey. It is also probable that even in the parishes listed many householders did not have a water-supply and are therefore not returned.
The Pipe Water Accounts for 1681 [fol. 419-20] contain 89 entries and the vast majority were supplied with water for private use. One person was supplied with water for brewing; one for malting; three for brewing and malting; three for ale-brewing; one for distilling and one for stabling. The returns relate only to six parishes, St. Audoen's; St. Catherine's; St. Michael's' St. Nicholas Within the Walls; St. Nicholas Without the Walls; and St. Werburgh's.
The Pipe Water Accounts for 1694 [fol. 510-12] are entered street-by-street and contain 67 entries. For the first time in this series of Pipe Water Accounts, entries relating to the north side of the River Liffey are given, including one entry each for Abbey Street, Mary Street and Ormond Quay and five entries for Capel Street. Payments are either £1-0s-0d or £0-10s-0d; however the purpose for which water was required is not stated.
The Pipe Water Accounts for 1705 [fol. 577-82] indicate the rapid growth of Dublin. In 1680, 303 households were in receipt of piped water, but this had risen to 758 in 1705. This was occasioned largely by the development of new suburbs to the north of the River Liffey, primarily by Sir Humphrey Jervis, who is returned in 1705 as a householder in Abbey Street. Temple Bar was another new development not featured in 1680 but it is included in 1705. Since 95% of households paid a standard sum of £1-0s-0d for water, the revenues accruing from each street provide a rough guide to density of settlement. The largest revenues were generated in well-established areas, including St. Thomas Street (£52) and Church Street (£42); but Capel Street, which was developed after Jervis built Essex Bridge in 1678, was already providing £38-10s, more than Castle Street with £34. The Pipe Water Accounts for 1705 also include a number of French names, throwing light on Huguenot settlement, and also reveal that the miser Joseph Damer (better known for his residence Damer House, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary) actually did pay for a supply of water to his premises in Smithfield. The purpose for which water was required is not recorded in the accounts for 1705.
The Pipe Water Accounts for 1706 [fol. 589-94] are entered street-by-street and contain 782 entries, relating to both south and north of the River Liffey. The purpose for which water was required is not stated.
Dublin City Pipe Water Accounts, 1680Principal Inhabitants of the City of Dublin, 1684
This list was compiled at a general session of the Peace and Gaol delivery for the County of the City of Dublin, held on Thursday 9 October 1684 in the presence of Abel Ram, Lord Mayor of the city, Sir Richard Reeves, recorder, Sir Joshua Allen, merchant, and goldsmiths Peter Wybrants, Lewis Desmynieres and Enoch Reader, who collectively were Justices of the King's Dominions within the franchises of the County of the City of Dublin. The purpose of the list was probably to furnish the names of those eligible for jury service by virtue of their standing in the community. Names are entered by parish and by street within each parish, and occupations are usually given - reflecting a variety of specialist crafts i.e. Spanishleatherdresser, feltmaker, hatbandmaker. Note that an upholder was an upholsterer responsible for external fabric and an inholder was responsible for stuffing upholstery. As might be expected, each district had its own speciality: Ringsend, beside the sea, had fishermen and a ropemaker, whereas Thomas Court, in the weaving district, contained weavers, a threadmaker and a glover. 
Principal Inhabitants of City of Dublin, 1684General Information
Payments recorded in the Dublin Directory 1647-1706 are in pounds, shillings and pence. In this period, Ireland and England each had its own currency which differed in value. Some of the weekly returns of payment to the Dublin City Assembly of impost for the grinding of malt and retailing of ale were made in Sterling which was the English currency. The currency is not specified for the remaining payments recorded in the Dublin Directory.
In the period 1647-1706, the first day of the New Year was Lady Day, 25 March. This means that a date entered in the original sources as 3 March 1647 is actually 3 March 1648 in the modern calendar. In this Dublin Directory, the date is entered as is appears in the original sources while under the category of year both years are given i.e. 3 March 1647 is entered as 1647/8.
SOURCES FOR THE DUBLIN DIRECTORY 1647-1706
The Dublin Directory 1647-1706 has been compiled from original contemporary manuscripts, listed below, which are held by Dublin City Library & Archive, 138-144 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, with the exception of the Dublin City Census 1660-61 which is held by the Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. We are grateful to the RIA for permission to include the Dublin City Census in the Dublin Directory.