Seapoint Martello Tower with Seapoint Hotel in the background circa 1809.
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Seapoint circa 1845
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Seapoint House
NAME Seapoint Baths/Seapoint Boarding House - The Select/Seapoint Hotel/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.
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.
Seapoint Avenue was improved in 1808 under the direction of Sir Harcourt Lee. A new carriageway
plus a 20 foot parade for pedestrians was opened at Seapoint House stretching nearly as far
as Monkstown Church. It was terminated on either end by an iron gate and granite piers and
enclosed by a 4 foot wall on either side.
Martin Burke was involved in the hotel business at Seapoint 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. By 1828 the hotel occupied 28 of the 53 acres of
the townland of Seapoint/Templehill and also included the Select Hotel.
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 wooden bridge was built they lost their unique access to the sea. Martin Burke still had
The Select for sale in 1849.
Parts of this huge complex exists in the grounds of houses in the area, including stables at the back
of Osborne Court (apartments) and a business premises opposite in a old coach house that goes by
the name Seapoint House (Aberdelgie House).
YEAR BUILT 1750
VALUATION A valuation was not found
Number of
Rooms In the 1911 census both buildings are noted as having 9 rooms.
ARCHITECT Unknown
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneous newspapers, NAI Census & Wills
and OSI Maps.
OCCUPANTS
Seapoint House, Seapoint
1766 - 1774 Hon Robert Marshall
1782 - 1786 House for let by Sir William & Lady Osborne
1793 - 1818 Mr Francis John Jones - Seapoint Hotel
1808 - 1839 Martin Burke - Seapoint Hotel
1835 - 1841 For Sale/To Let by M Bourke
1841 - 1844 Rev Dr John Homan - Homan's Boarding Seminary, Seapoint House
1852 - 1854 Ardenza Terrace built on the site
1861 - 1863 Four houses built at site as Tobernea Terrace
The Select Boarding School, Seapoint Boarding House & Select Hotel
1810 - 1811 Mr Kearns - Seapoint Boarding House
1842 - 1843 College of Engineering and Mining - John Gregory
1843 - 1845 Seapoint Select Day School - Philip F Homan, Principal
1848 Sequestered as a Military Barracks
1853 Badly damaged by storm
Seapoint House/Aberdelgie residence and commercial property just south of Seapoint
Manor facing Tobernea Terrace (lease starts 1861)
1867 - 1892 Semple family
1895 - 1913 William & Harriett Johnston - Wine Merchant
1901 - 1905 Alex Valentine - Wine/Grocer
1905 - 1911 Thomas Scott - Grocer
1911 For sale as one lot (Seapoint House & Aberdelgie)
1912 - 1943 Scott & Co Grocers - Seapoint House
1912 Mrs Johnson - Aberdelgie
1917 James M Fadyen Brown
1921 Richard Felton - Aberdelgie
1925 - 1943 Mrs Halliday - Aberdelgie
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 No longer extant
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.
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.
Seapoint Avenue was improved in 1808 under the direction of Sir Harcourt Lee. A new carriageway
plus a 20 foot parade for pedestrians was opened at Seapoint House stretching nearly as far
as Monkstown Church. It was terminated on either end by an iron gate and granite piers and
enclosed by a 4 foot wall on either side.
Martin Burke was involved in the hotel business at Seapoint 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. By 1828 the hotel occupied 28 of the 53 acres of
the townland of Seapoint/Templehill and also included the Select Hotel.
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 wooden bridge was built they lost their unique access to the sea. Martin Burke still had
The Select for sale in 1849.
Parts of this huge complex exists in the grounds of houses in the area, including stables at the back
of Osborne Court (apartments) and a business premises opposite in a old coach house that goes by
the name Seapoint House (Aberdelgie House).
YEAR BUILT 1750
VALUATION A valuation was not found
Number of
Rooms In the 1911 census both buildings are noted as having 9 rooms.
ARCHITECT Unknown
SOURCES Thom’s directories, contemporaneous newspapers, NAI Census & Wills
and OSI Maps.
OCCUPANTS
Seapoint House, Seapoint
1766 - 1774 Hon Robert Marshall
1782 - 1786 House for let by Sir William & Lady Osborne
1793 - 1818 Mr Francis John Jones - Seapoint Hotel
1808 - 1839 Martin Burke - Seapoint Hotel
1835 - 1841 For Sale/To Let by M Bourke
1841 - 1844 Rev Dr John Homan - Homan's Boarding Seminary, Seapoint House
1852 - 1854 Ardenza Terrace built on the site
1861 - 1863 Four houses built at site as Tobernea Terrace
The Select Boarding School, Seapoint Boarding House & Select Hotel
1810 - 1811 Mr Kearns - Seapoint Boarding House
1842 - 1843 College of Engineering and Mining - John Gregory
1843 - 1845 Seapoint Select Day School - Philip F Homan, Principal
1848 Sequestered as a Military Barracks
1853 Badly damaged by storm
Seapoint House/Aberdelgie residence and commercial property just south of Seapoint
Manor facing Tobernea Terrace (lease starts 1861)
1867 - 1892 Semple family
1895 - 1913 William & Harriett Johnston - Wine Merchant
1901 - 1905 Alex Valentine - Wine/Grocer
1905 - 1911 Thomas Scott - Grocer
1911 For sale as one lot (Seapoint House & Aberdelgie)
1912 - 1943 Scott & Co Grocers - Seapoint House
1912 Mrs Johnson - Aberdelgie
1917 James M Fadyen Brown
1921 Richard Felton - Aberdelgie
1925 - 1943 Mrs Halliday - Aberdelgie
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 No longer extant
CONTRIBUTOR © June Bow & Karen Poff
DATE January 2020