Mercês (street)
Original title: Mercês (Rua das)
Street in Funchal named after the former Convent of Mercês, which stood on it; the entry records the convent's demolition from 1911 and the fate of its grounds.
This street links Rua dos Netos and Rua de São Pedro with Largo do Marquês and Rua da Saúde. It takes its name from the Convento das Mercês (Convent of Our Lady of Mercy), which once stood on it and which we have already discussed in the 1st volume of this Elucidário. The convent grounds extended to near the chapel of the Almas (Holy Souls in Purgatory), and the Travessa das Capuchinhas was then very narrow.
The Council considered establishing the gaol in the convent of Our Lady of Ransom (Nossa Senhora das Mercês), whose grounds it had obtained after the proclamation of the Republic. Having abandoned this idea, however, it resolved on 22 April 1914 to cede the same grounds to the ‘Auxílio Maternal’, receiving in exchange the part of the Convent of St Clare (Santa Clara) that had been ceded to that institution by the decrees of 31 October 1912 and 22 September 1913.
Demolition of the Convento das Mercês began in 1911 to make way for the gaol. In that same year the building served to house some of the troops who came to Madeira to maintain public order during the cholera epidemic. On 4 March 1915 the executive committee of the Council informed the Government that it would not use the convent building for the construction of the gaol.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 05-
Demolition of the Convento das Mercês in Funchal began for a planned prison; the building had housed troops sent during the cholera epidemic.
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Decrees granted the Santa Clara convent to the municipality, the Misericórdia (for a hospital) and the Auxílio Maternal; part of it was demolished.
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A further decree ceded part of the Convent of Santa Clara to the Auxílio Maternal.
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Funchal council resolved to cede the Mercês convent grounds to the Auxílio Maternal in exchange for part of Santa Clara convent.
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The council's executive committee told the Government it would not use the Mercês convent for the prison.
Place
Places mentioned · 09- Rua das Mercês · Subject
Funchal. The street that is the subject of the entry.
Rua das Mercês is a Funchal street named after the former Convent of Mercês, which stood on it and was demolished from 1911. It was the second site of the military hospital, is joined by Rua do Castanheiro, and once included the Rua dos Moinhos.
- Chapel of the Holy Souls
Ribeira Brava. Chapel near which the convent grounds ended.
Former chapel in the parish of Ribeira Brava. The notes also mention it as a chapel near which the convent grounds ended, under the entry for the Rua das Mercês.
- Convent of Our Lady of Ransom
Funchal. Former convent that gave the street its name, demolished from 1911.
The Convento das Mercês was a convent in Funchal, begun in 1654 as a lay retreat house for women, made a strict Poor Clare convent in 1663, and demolished from 1911. It was renowned for the austerity of its nuns, its foundation is the subject of a legend, and it gave the Rua das Mercês its name. Madre Brites da Paixão lived, died and was buried there, and its church held the image of Our Lady of Solitude.
- Convent of St Clare
Funchal. Part of this convent was received by the council in exchange for the Mercês grounds.
A convent in Funchal founded in 1492–97 by the second captain-donatary João Gonçalves da Câmara beside the church of Conceição de Cima. It is the burial place of the Câmara family and holds a 1447 document spelling the name 'Zargo'. It was granted in 1912 for a new hospital and was later chosen to house the archaeological museum.
- Largo do Marquês
Funchal. Square at one end of the Rua das Mercês.
Largo do Marquês is a square in Funchal, also known as Moinhos, near the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Saúde. It is named after the marquesses of Castelo Melhor, whose watermills nearby were demolished in 1898. It lies at one end of the Rua das Mercês and marks one end of the old Rua dos Moinhos.
- Rua da Saúde
Funchal. Street connected by the Rua das Mercês.
The Rua da Saúde is a street in Funchal, and before 1838 its name was used for what became the Entrada da Cidade. Works on the Saúde gate and street were authorised in 1838 and begun in 1839. The name, taken from the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Saúde that stands on it, survives in the rua and calçada da Saúde, which are linked by the Rua das Mercês.
- Rua de São Pedro
Funchal. One of the streets connected by the Rua das Mercês.
Rua de São Pedro is a street in Funchal. It starts from the Rua dos Netos, is joined by the Rua do Castanheiro, and is one of the streets connected by the Rua das Mercês.
- Rua dos Netos
Funchal. One of the streets connected by the Rua das Mercês.
Rua dos Netos is a Funchal street running from Rua de São Pedro to the Ponte Nova over the Santa Luzia stream. It is named after the settler João Rodrigues Neto Calassa and the Neto family. The bishop rented a house there in 1915, the Red Cross delegation had its premises and first-aid post there, and the Montepio houses stood in its eastern part.
- Travessa das Capuchinhas
Funchal. Lane that was then very narrow because of the convent grounds.
Travessa das Capuchinhas is a lane in Funchal marking one end of the old Rua dos Moinhos, and it was once very narrow because of the convent grounds. A private chapel there first housed the images of the Procissão dos Passos.