Ashton Park
NAME Ashton Park
AREA LOCATION Originally Monkstown Avenue, now the site of Brook Court, Ashton Park
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838 - 1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of
Mount Aston and it is annotated as Ashton Park on both
GENERAL In 1857 Ashton park is 'commonly called Thunder's Alley'. It was for sale
in 1875 on 26 acres of well timbered land enclosed with neat iron fences and gates. It had a large
walled garden with four greenhouses, two melon frames, workshop, tool house, potting house and
fruit loft. It had two drawing rooms with a conservatory, a dining room and eight bedrooms. It had
a basement containing kitchen, pantry, servants quarters, store and shoe rooms, a dairy, wine seller
and four coal vaults. Outside it had stabling for seven horses, coach houses, gardeners rooms,
granary, lofts, sheds etc. In 1877 a villa, stables, offices, gate lodge, boundary walls were built for
John Hone. In 1890 it was again for sale now on 30 acres held under five leases. In 1924 it was for
sale on 24 acres with six family bedrooms, study, large entrance hall, billiards room and outside
there were tennis courts and a motor house. The sale also included 2 two storey redbrick house
built on the grounds facing Monkstown avenue.
YEAR BUILT It appears that the original house was replaced circa 1877 for John Hone
VALUATION In 1894 the valuation was 150 pounds and in the 1901 census it is
noted as having 12 rooms occupied by the family.
ARCHITECT Unknown, 1877 Millar & Symes
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneous newspapers, NAI Census & Wills,
F E Ball, Lewis 1837 and OSI Maps
OCCUPANTS
1797 Robert Ashworth
1833 - 1847 Andrew Thunder
1848 Mrs Thunder
1849 - 1872 Joseph Hone
1872 - 1874 Mrs Joseph Hone
1874 - 1889 John Hone
1891 - 1919 Richard Blair White
1919 - 1923 Charles Blair White
1924 For sale
1935 - 1937 Frederick Watkins
1940 For sale for 21.5 acres
1952 WP Lucas
1952 - 1973 Brook Preparatory School
1954 Borough Builders built houses on the land
c1974 Demolished
STAFF
1847 - 1864 Edward Murphy - Gatelodge keeper & gardener (rip 24 Dec1864 aged 79)
1901 Patrick Kearney - Labourer
Joseph Mooney - Gardener
1901 - 1911 John Hegarty - Coachman
1901 Rachel Millicent Lowe - Nurse
Sarah Emily Doyle - Parlourmaid
Kate Kennedy - Laundress
Anne Downey - Cook
1911 Ellen Whelan - Housemaid
Ellen McCarthy - Cook
Mary Keeley - Parlourmaid
John Cullen - Gardener
1916 Kate Kinsella - Domestic Servant (in a accident)
1937 E H Woods (father of Stanley) living at the bungalow
1952 - 1973 WPM Ross - Headmaster
CURRENT No longer extant
STATUS
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE July 2025
AREA LOCATION Originally Monkstown Avenue, now the site of Brook Court, Ashton Park
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838 - 1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of
Mount Aston and it is annotated as Ashton Park on both
GENERAL In 1857 Ashton park is 'commonly called Thunder's Alley'. It was for sale
in 1875 on 26 acres of well timbered land enclosed with neat iron fences and gates. It had a large
walled garden with four greenhouses, two melon frames, workshop, tool house, potting house and
fruit loft. It had two drawing rooms with a conservatory, a dining room and eight bedrooms. It had
a basement containing kitchen, pantry, servants quarters, store and shoe rooms, a dairy, wine seller
and four coal vaults. Outside it had stabling for seven horses, coach houses, gardeners rooms,
granary, lofts, sheds etc. In 1877 a villa, stables, offices, gate lodge, boundary walls were built for
John Hone. In 1890 it was again for sale now on 30 acres held under five leases. In 1924 it was for
sale on 24 acres with six family bedrooms, study, large entrance hall, billiards room and outside
there were tennis courts and a motor house. The sale also included 2 two storey redbrick house
built on the grounds facing Monkstown avenue.
YEAR BUILT It appears that the original house was replaced circa 1877 for John Hone
VALUATION In 1894 the valuation was 150 pounds and in the 1901 census it is
noted as having 12 rooms occupied by the family.
ARCHITECT Unknown, 1877 Millar & Symes
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneous newspapers, NAI Census & Wills,
F E Ball, Lewis 1837 and OSI Maps
OCCUPANTS
1797 Robert Ashworth
1833 - 1847 Andrew Thunder
1848 Mrs Thunder
1849 - 1872 Joseph Hone
1872 - 1874 Mrs Joseph Hone
1874 - 1889 John Hone
1891 - 1919 Richard Blair White
1919 - 1923 Charles Blair White
1924 For sale
1935 - 1937 Frederick Watkins
1940 For sale for 21.5 acres
1952 WP Lucas
1952 - 1973 Brook Preparatory School
1954 Borough Builders built houses on the land
c1974 Demolished
STAFF
1847 - 1864 Edward Murphy - Gatelodge keeper & gardener (rip 24 Dec1864 aged 79)
1901 Patrick Kearney - Labourer
Joseph Mooney - Gardener
1901 - 1911 John Hegarty - Coachman
1901 Rachel Millicent Lowe - Nurse
Sarah Emily Doyle - Parlourmaid
Kate Kennedy - Laundress
Anne Downey - Cook
1911 Ellen Whelan - Housemaid
Ellen McCarthy - Cook
Mary Keeley - Parlourmaid
John Cullen - Gardener
1916 Kate Kinsella - Domestic Servant (in a accident)
1937 E H Woods (father of Stanley) living at the bungalow
1952 - 1973 WPM Ross - Headmaster
CURRENT No longer extant
STATUS
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE July 2025