Seapoint House
NAME Seapoint Baths/Seapoint Boarding House - The Select/Seapoint House Seminary
AREA LOCATION Ardenza Park off Seapoint Avenue
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838-1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of Seapoint
Temple Hill and it is annotated as Seapoint House on both. Originally a
huge site running from Blackrock House to what is now Seapoint Dart
Station.
GENERAL A Boarding House was run from here from about 1793 by Francis James Jones
who took on various partners in the business and the house saw many alterations and additions. The
hotel was the venue for Balls and Assemblies and hosted a Promenade each evening, except Sunday,
with music and dancing. Upwards of 500 people attended the Balls and suppers and it was reported
that carriages were backed up to Mount Merrion Avenue. Jones arranged for transport to and from
these events with a special long coach and also arranged for patrols on the roads to ensure the safety
of his customers.
Martin Burke was involved from circa 1808 and it was here that he learned his trade. In 1824 Martin
purchased a house at Stephens Green and opened the Shelbourne Hotel, which he ran in tandem
with the hotel at Seapoint. He added a wing and built four houses on the grounds during his tenure.
Seapoint House stood on the brink of the sea, divided from it by a winding terrace and sloping
lawns terminating by the water. It was the scene of a dreadful shipping disaster in November
1807 when two ships sank in the bay in appalling weather conditions. The Prince of Wales left Dublin
for Liverpool but they struck the battery at Dunleary and sank opposite Sir John Lees House at
Blackrock, only the crew escaped. On the same evening the Rochdale also got into distress, they
hoisted a blue light and guns were fired, but the violence of the surge and the snow prevented rescuers
from reaching them - all 265 souls perished. The passengers were mainly from the 97th Regiment
with 42 women and 29 children also on board.
When it went for sale in 1835, it had a ballroom, billiard room and 60 bedrooms with stabling for 60
horses and 40 carriages. The building of the railway in 1834 was the beginning of the end and although
a bridge was built they lost their unique access to the sea.
YEAR BUILT 1750
VALUATION A valuation was not found
Number of
Rooms In the 1911 census both building are noted as having 9 rooms.
ARCHITECT
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneous newspapers, NAI Census & Wills
and OSI Maps.
OCCUPANTS
1766 - 1774 Hon Robert Marshall
1782 - 1786 House for Let by Sir William & Lady Osborne
1793 - 1818 Mr Francis Jones (senior) - Seapoint Boarding House & Royal Hibernian Hotel Dawson Street
1810 - 1811 Mr Kearns - Seapoint Boarding House
1808 - 1839 Martin Burke - Seapoint Hotel
1834 Bond executed to protect Seapoint House and adjoining building 'The Select' when
the Dublin & Kingstown rail cut them off from the sea including a bridge built.
1835 - 1841 For Sale/To Let
1842 - 1843 College of Engineering and Mining - John Gregory
1843 - 1845 Seapoint Select Day School - John Homan - Principal
1848 Sequestered as a Military Barracks
1853 Badly damaged by storm
1855 Martin Burke sued the rail company for non-upkeep as per a 1834 bond.
1863 Seapoint seminary - Dr Cahill
1865 Site split again
1867 - 1892 Semple family
1895 - 1911 William & Harriett Johnston - Wine Merchant
1901 - 1905 Alex Valentine - Wine Grocer
1905 Fire
1905 - 1911 Thomas Scott - Grocer
1917 James M Fadyen Brown
1936 Fire
STAFF
-1823 James Flynn - Head waiter
1901 Jane Burns - Servant to Valentines
1901 Maria Hughes - Cook to Johnstons
Jane McCarthy - Maid to Johnstons
1911 Elizabeth Ronan - Servant to Scotts
CURRENT
STATUS Part of the huge complex exists in other houses in the area
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE January 2020
AREA LOCATION Ardenza Park off Seapoint Avenue
MAP LOCATION OSI maps of 1838-1845 and 1898-1913 place it in the townland of Seapoint
Temple Hill and it is annotated as Seapoint House on both. Originally a
huge site running from Blackrock House to what is now Seapoint Dart
Station.
GENERAL A Boarding House was run from here from about 1793 by Francis James Jones
who took on various partners in the business and the house saw many alterations and additions. The
hotel was the venue for Balls and Assemblies and hosted a Promenade each evening, except Sunday,
with music and dancing. Upwards of 500 people attended the Balls and suppers and it was reported
that carriages were backed up to Mount Merrion Avenue. Jones arranged for transport to and from
these events with a special long coach and also arranged for patrols on the roads to ensure the safety
of his customers.
Martin Burke was involved from circa 1808 and it was here that he learned his trade. In 1824 Martin
purchased a house at Stephens Green and opened the Shelbourne Hotel, which he ran in tandem
with the hotel at Seapoint. He added a wing and built four houses on the grounds during his tenure.
Seapoint House stood on the brink of the sea, divided from it by a winding terrace and sloping
lawns terminating by the water. It was the scene of a dreadful shipping disaster in November
1807 when two ships sank in the bay in appalling weather conditions. The Prince of Wales left Dublin
for Liverpool but they struck the battery at Dunleary and sank opposite Sir John Lees House at
Blackrock, only the crew escaped. On the same evening the Rochdale also got into distress, they
hoisted a blue light and guns were fired, but the violence of the surge and the snow prevented rescuers
from reaching them - all 265 souls perished. The passengers were mainly from the 97th Regiment
with 42 women and 29 children also on board.
When it went for sale in 1835, it had a ballroom, billiard room and 60 bedrooms with stabling for 60
horses and 40 carriages. The building of the railway in 1834 was the beginning of the end and although
a bridge was built they lost their unique access to the sea.
YEAR BUILT 1750
VALUATION A valuation was not found
Number of
Rooms In the 1911 census both building are noted as having 9 rooms.
ARCHITECT
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneous newspapers, NAI Census & Wills
and OSI Maps.
OCCUPANTS
1766 - 1774 Hon Robert Marshall
1782 - 1786 House for Let by Sir William & Lady Osborne
1793 - 1818 Mr Francis Jones (senior) - Seapoint Boarding House & Royal Hibernian Hotel Dawson Street
1810 - 1811 Mr Kearns - Seapoint Boarding House
1808 - 1839 Martin Burke - Seapoint Hotel
1834 Bond executed to protect Seapoint House and adjoining building 'The Select' when
the Dublin & Kingstown rail cut them off from the sea including a bridge built.
1835 - 1841 For Sale/To Let
1842 - 1843 College of Engineering and Mining - John Gregory
1843 - 1845 Seapoint Select Day School - John Homan - Principal
1848 Sequestered as a Military Barracks
1853 Badly damaged by storm
1855 Martin Burke sued the rail company for non-upkeep as per a 1834 bond.
1863 Seapoint seminary - Dr Cahill
1865 Site split again
1867 - 1892 Semple family
1895 - 1911 William & Harriett Johnston - Wine Merchant
1901 - 1905 Alex Valentine - Wine Grocer
1905 Fire
1905 - 1911 Thomas Scott - Grocer
1917 James M Fadyen Brown
1936 Fire
STAFF
-1823 James Flynn - Head waiter
1901 Jane Burns - Servant to Valentines
1901 Maria Hughes - Cook to Johnstons
Jane McCarthy - Maid to Johnstons
1911 Elizabeth Ronan - Servant to Scotts
CURRENT
STATUS Part of the huge complex exists in other houses in the area
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE January 2020