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Chesterfield House
NAME Chesterfield
AREA LOCATION Cross Avenue, Booterstown
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838-1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of
Merrion and it is annotated as Chesterfield on both. On Duncan's map of 1821
and on Rocque's map of 1760 it is unnamed.
GENERAL For lease in 1819 on 8 acres with eleven principal rooms, kitchen, servants hall,
laundry, store room and two coach houses. There were also apartments for ten servants. It had a
large productive garden and a sheet of water stocked with fish. It was surrounded by thousands of
registered and evergreen trees and in 1907 a rustic cottage was built in the grounds by Laurence
Aloysius McDonnell for Howard Guinness which it thought to be still extant. A gatelodge was
added during occupation of Nathaniel Sneyd.
In the 1970's most of the house demolished and rebuilt around the drawing room of the original
structure. A house was built in the grounds for Tom Roche, junior and his wife Ann Doyle
(daughter of PV Doyle). Renesca, a newly-built c.11,800sq.ft mansion is also in the grounds of what
was once Chesterfield. In 2006 a new boundary was was built cutting off Woodford (a house which
had been built on the grounds incorporating the old outhouses) and a new entrance made to
Chesterfield. The entrance to Rossmore was blocked up at this time.
YEAR BUILT circa 1818
VALUATION In 1883 the Valuation was 79 Pounds and in the 1901 census it is noted as
having 19 rooms occupied by family.
ARCHITECT Unknown
SOURCES Thom’s directories, OSI maps, Griffith's Valuation, NAI Census & Wills
contemporaneous newspapers, Griffith's Valuation and Registry of Deeds.
OCCUPANTS
1803 Land leased from Fitzwilliam by Thomas Meade, builder.
1818 - 1820 Stanhope Gresham
1830 - 1833 Nathaniel Sneyd, MP & Wine merchant (Sneyd French & Barton - murdered)
1834 Mrs Burgh, mother in law to Nathaniel Sneyd and wife of Thomas Burgh, Chief Baron.
1835 - 1838 Rev William Beatty
1839 - 1845 Ambrose Cox
1860 Vacant
1862 - 1876 Henry Dwyer, solicitor
1876 - 1885 John McCurdy
1885 - 1893 Dowager Lady Jane Anna Eiza Power
1894 - 1923 Howard Rundell Guinness
1923 - 1942 Rev Robert Northridge
1943 Rev Herbert Aubrey Hamilton Northridge
1947 - 1957 G Ashford Bradbury and Mrs A Bradburyof Bradmola
1957 - 1970 Tom Roche (Roadstone)
1996 Permission to build 97 house in the grounds (not actioned)
2004 Myles Crofton's Avenue Homes for €47 million
2006 Most of the lands of Chesterfield are sold for development
2018 An Bord Pleanala gave permission for 217 houses. The original drawing room is
to be retained within a reconstructed Chesterfield House containing three new
apartments.
STAFF
1849 Eliza Cox & Mary Devans- Gate keepers
1875 Mr Donnelly - Gardener
1901 Annie Maxwell - Childs nurse
George Bowden - Groom
Isabella Harison - Cook
Charlotte Magee Cochrane - Housemaid
Elizabeth Smith - Parlourmaid
Marie Angele Nanteuel - Childs maid
1901 Peter Walsh - gardener living at the gatelodge
1911 Jemima Henrietta Campbell - Housemaid
Bridget Maria Douglas - Laundress
Daisy Dorothy Chapman Cosstick - Kitchen maid
Kathleen Gorman - Cook
Margaret Anne Carroll - Parlourmaid
Caroline Maxwell - Childs maid
Robert James Crone - Groom
1911 Lachlan Black - Gardener living at gatelodge
CURRENT
STATUS
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE May 2019