History of Dublin After the Anglo-Normans taking of Dublin in 1171, many of the city's Norse inhabitants left the old city, which was on the south side of the river Liffey and built their own settlement on the north side, known as Ostmantown or "Oxmantown". Dublin became the capital of the English Lordship of Ireland from 1171 onwards and was peopled extensively with settlers from England and Wales. The rural area around the city, as far north as Drogheda, also saw extensive English settlement. In the 14th century, this area was fortified against the increasingly assertive Native Irish – becoming known as The
St James' Church, Dublin (Church of Ireland) an old custom that funeral processions passing the fountain would circle it three times before carrying on to the cemetery. James Whitelaw (1749–1813) was a clergyman at this church, before going on to St. Catherine's Church. St James' Church, Dublin (Church of Ireland) St. James' Church (), a former Church of Ireland church in James's Street, Dublin, Ireland, was established in 1707. The corresponding parish, which was separated from that of nearby St. Catherine's, was established in 1710. There had been a shrine dedicated to St. James at nearby St. James's Gate, a stopping-off point for pilgrims, since medieval times.