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TheJournal.ie
Double Take
Have you spotted the forgotten Penny Dreadful signage on this Dublin side street?
Take a wander through Dame Court and you’ll spot a piece of Victorian London.
PERIOD HORROR SERIES Penny Dreadful may have wrapped back in 2016, but traces of the show can still be found in Dublin city.
Ireland was a key filming location for the drama over the course of its run, until its abrupt cancellation after three seasons.
Filming took place in various locations around Dublin from 2013 to 2016, among them Bray and the city centre.
Like most TV and film sets, most of the Victorian-style shopfronts used by the crew were temporary, and were simply packed up after filming.
Here’s a taster of the set, sitting outside Dublin castle back in January 2016:
Over on Dublin’s Dame Court, however, some of the show’s legacy still lives on.
To the left of the famous Stag’s Head pub, you’ll find some Victorian-style signs left over from filming.
In 2014, Penny Dreadful took over Dame Lane for a few days, with the Dublin 2 location standing in for London’s Pulteney Lane.
The area was transformed into a very realistic-looking Victorian London, with aged shop fronts and signs all over the street.
Some of this signage – advertising items like “perambulators” and “petticoats”- remains, no doubt confusing many a tourist.
Dame Lane is part of Dublin’s historic city centre, dating back to medieval times and even featuring in James Joyce’s Ulysses.
The pubs around the area have an old-style Victorian charm, so it’s no surprise the location was chosen as a stand-in for Pulteney Lane.
So there you have it. A little piece of Gothic Victorian London, right in the centre of Dublin.
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