A bird's eye view of the early 19c Four Courts and surrounds, from the Illustrated London News.
Zoom in even closer here on this or any part of Dublin:
https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/20582/rec/361
Thanks to @OldeEire for this amazing share! Made my week!

The map dates from 1849 but the building configuration is from a few years earlier. You can see how small the original site was. The area was extended in the 1830s and a rear extension erected. This map shows the change.

A related map showing the earlier building configuration as per the Illustrated London News view.

This is an illustration of the rear of the Four Courts prior to its compulsory acquisition, showing the stables of the White Cross Inn. The Four Courts nearly burnt down after a fire broke out here in 1805.
https://ruthcannon.com/2020/06/12/fire-in-the-four-courts-1867/

As well as the danger of fire and lack of space in the original building, the constant plaguing of barristers by the Pill Lane fishwives shown below may have contributed to the decision to 'insulate' the courts by acquiring the rear portion.
https://ruthcannon.com/2020/04/29/the-morning-commute-1835/

How it all looked in colour - an 1819 zoomable view of the front of the courts by Brocas and Le Petite here.
http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000036259
You can see how closely the building was hemmed in on either side.

More images of the Four Courts showing its original configuration here. For ease of reference, the images from the 1810s-20s seem to be closest to what is depicted in the Illustrated London News Bird's Eye View.
https://ruthcannon.com/historical-images-of-the-four-courts-east-and-north-sides/
https://ruthcannon.com/historical-images-of-the-four-courts-western-side/.

@threadreaderapp unroll