Not Everything Changes

Monkstown Church

The present church in Monkstown dates from 1831 and is the fifth parish church. It is a striking design with notable features like loop windows (arrow slits) and clasping buttresses. The previous church on the same site was deemed too small to serve the congregation after its completion in 1789. The church has attracted varying comments on its design over the years. The Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette declared the design to be ‘an imposing piece of architecture'. Improvements have been made to the church since it was built, for example, the new chancel built in 1862.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Monkstown Church
Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Monkstown Church

The present church in Monkstown dates from 1831 and is the fifth parish church. It is a striking design with notable features like loop windows (arrow slits) and clasping buttresses. The previous church on the same site was deemed too small to serve the congregation after its completion in 1789. The church has attracted varying comments on its design over the years. The Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette declared the design to be ‘an imposing piece of architecture'. Improvements have been made to the church since it was built, for example, the new chancel built in 1862.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Enlarge image

The vast majority of postcard images, if compared with a similar image taken today, indicate changes of one kind or another. However, some images serve to illustrate how certain things do stand the test of time. Two areas worth mentioning in this regard are Monkstown (in particular Monkstown Church) and Milltown/Dundrum.

Monkstown Church, like the entire area around it has a rich and varied history. However the Church remains at the centre of the village and retains closely the general impression given in 1906. This, the fifth parish church of Monkstown was built by John Semple in 1831, using Dalkey granite.

It is an unusual design. Notable features include hexagonal pinnacles, loop windows (arrow slits) and clasping buttresses made from square-hewn stones. The interior is equally striking. Previously on this site there was a smaller church together with an adjoining schoolhouse, which had been completed in 1789. It was deemed too small to house the congregation and so the decision was made to rebuild it.

Monkstown Church today

This digital camera image shows Monkstown Church as it is in 2004. The image, when compared with the postcard from 1906, shows how little the building has changed. It was built in 1831 and has attracted attention, over the years, because of its striking, unique design. Improvements have been made to the building since but it remains true to its original design. John Semple designed the church.

Digital image taken for project.

Monkstown Church today
Digital image taken for project.

Monkstown Church today

This digital camera image shows Monkstown Church as it is in 2004. The image, when compared with the postcard from 1906, shows how little the building has changed. It was built in 1831 and has attracted attention, over the years, because of its striking, unique design. Improvements have been made to the building since but it remains true to its original design. John Semple designed the church.

Digital image taken for project.

Enlarge image

Reaction to this unusual design has been varied over the years. Weston St. John Joyce described it in his book In the Neighbourhood of Dublin as being "the non-descript ediface which disfigures its site". The Irish Ecclesiatical Gazette declared it to be "an imposing piece of architecture". A new chancel was added in 1862 and various other improvements have been added over the years. The postcard of Monkstown has a Daventry postmark dating from 1906.