Glenasmole Roads

City Weir and Bella VistaGLENASMOLE ROADSOpposite to Sally Park is an old passage leading down to theDodder where there was in former times a ford now replaced by afoot bridge. Here also is the City Weir.City WeirThe City Weir was built in the thirteenth century to convey waterfrom the Dodder in order to supplement the water of the PoddleRiver which supplied Dublin with drinking water. It was believeduntil lately that the citizens had built this in 1244, but recentresearch has shown that it was built by the monks of St. Thomas’sAbbey in Thomas Street at an earlier date and altered by thecitizens in 1244 to increase the flow of water. In normal states ofthe river almost all of the water was turned into the watercourse.This explains why the ford was located below the weir, in thealmost dry river bed. There were sluice gates to control the water.From 1845 when the Dodder was straightened and deepened therewas a precipitous drop of 20 feet into the river bed where the fordhad been. For many years after this, the only way for pedestriansto cross during a flood, was the dangerous one of wading alongthe top of the weir. A plank bridge was next put up bysubscription, but was soon washed away and a lattice bridge waserected about 1860.72