A BRIEF HISTORY OF PENROSE QUAY
The quarter surrounding Penrose Quay is steeped in rich historic DNA . The area was reclaimed from marshland in the early 1800s and soon after became the headquarters of one of the largest assemblages of steamships in southern Ireland with bustling trade to the UK .
The area also boasts some of Cork ’ s most beautiful Victorian Buildings in the shape of the Port of Cork Building , St Patrick ’ s Church and an array of historic red-bricked buildings along MacCurtain Street .
THE PENROSE FAMILY
Penrose Quay gets its name from the wealthy Quaker Penrose family of Woodhill , Tivoli , who were one of the great merchantile and mayoral families of Cork .
The Penroses came from an old Cornish family ; Cooper Penrose being born in Cornwall in 1736 .
Cooper Penrose ( after whom Penrose Quay was named ) had a thriving timber import and export business and soon came to be a High Sheriff of Cork .
He later married Elizabeth Dennis and it was through her he came into possession of Woodhill , Tivoli ( situated in the civil parish of St . Ann Shandon ). Elizabeth was the daughter and heiress of John Dennis , an influential Munster-based Quaker merchant . They had four children , two sons , James and William Edward , and two daughters , Elizabeth ( Bessie ), and Anne .
Cooper Penrose had a passionate love of art and possessed numerous pieces of artwork , along with many bronze and marble statues . The family home at Woodhill had become to be know as the “ The Irish Vatican ”.
There is a full exhibit of the artwork Cooper Penrose collected in the Crawford Art Gallery , Cork .
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