year the Cork Improvement Act of 1852 came into operation. Under its provisions the Wide Street Commissioners were abolished and their jurisdiction, together with the power formerly exercised by the City Grand Jury of striking a rate for the various services mentioned above was transferred to the Corporation.
When the Cork WSC was abolished under the Cork Improvement Act 1852, its assets and functions transferred to Cork Corporation, today Cork City Council.
Archival History Transferred from Cork Corporation (today, Cork City Council) in 1998 and 1999.
It is possible that the surviving archival records for the Wide Streets Commission were preserved through the business papers of its secretary or law agent, Julius C. Besnard (1776-1846), as the collection deals largely with matters of legal conveyance. None of the minutes of the Commissioners' meetings and none of the major survey drawings for a master plan survive. It is possible that the other documents and maps were destroyed, along with other municipal records, in the County and City Courthouse fire of 1891 and the burning of the City Hall in 1920.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Scope and Content
WSC/A Maps Plans and Drawings c1820 - 1850s (1872), 81 items. Mainly pen and ink map area surveys relating to work of the Commissioners in various sections of the City where the widening or improvement of streets is proposed. WSC/B Inquisitions and Judgements on Inquisitions, 1824 – 1851, 50 items. Inquisitions by Jury into valuations of property as requested by the Cork Wide Streets Commissioners. Many also contain a map of the properties in question. Also Judgements on Inquisitions by Cork Wide Streets Commissioners with orders and decrees regarding each valuation.
(WSC/C – Miscellaneous Deeds and Other Material. Will be available later)
See List of Items Below for Details.
System of Arrangement WSC/A Maps Plans and Drawings WSC/B Inquisitions and Judgements on Inquisitions
PERSON/INSTITUTION INDEX: Cork Wide Streets Commissioners
© Cork City and County Archives, Cork City Council 2025
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