Powerscourt Parish

Powerscourt from the dargle

This is a history of the parish of Powerscourt based on a centenary lecture given by the Rev. A.E. Stokes and the pamphlet was reprinted by the Old Bray Society in 1986. It is a very interesting account of the origins and development of the parish from approximately the 8th century onwards. It covers a period from early Anglo-Norman times up to 1923 when the Land Commission compulsorily purchased the majority of farms in the neighbourhood. The Vestry minutes are one of the main sources of information and they provide very interesting details from both a sociological and a historical view butunfortunately stop at 1807.

From other sources Rev. Stokes has written "the building of the present village of Enniskerry, including the school, took place just before the death of, in 1823, the fifth Viscount whose son erected the Town Clock in 1843 to commemorate the centenary of the creation of Powerscourt House in 1743. Richard the fifth Viscount was celebrated for the entertainment which he provided for George IV in
1821.

The throne made for the king is still at Powerscourt.

A memorial to this viscount, bearing the names of the two Theodosias whom he married, was transferred from the old church to to the present church in 1918..... In 1857 Elizabeth, Marchioness of Londonderry, whose first husband had been Richard the 6th Viscount , offered to the parish the magnificent present of a new church as a parting gift when she handed over her responsibilities on her son's attaining his majority. Mervyn Edward, the 7th Viscount from 1844 to 1904, laid the foundation stone with a mallet and trowel of Wicklow silver on the day he came of age in October 1857...."

Previous - Powerscourt Waterfall