Stroll around St Mary’s Church and graveyard, an oasis of calm, with some very old headstones! Then, pass old Clonsilla Forge and head to Clonsilla train station, to admire the old Signal Box and see the railway man operate a huge wheel, to manually close the level crossing gates. Afterwards, head into the train station itself, to view the historic wrought iron foot bridge. Then, head down the lane, south of the railway station, to Beechpark playground and park. Why not check out Beechpark Eco Farm & Shop (open Sat & Sun) on your way? Finally, continue on to Shackleton’s Gardens, one of Fingal’s loveliest walled gardens. Find a bench and enjoy the views!
Further details on each of these places of interest below!
St Mary’s Church and graveyard
Built on the site of an earlier church, St Mary’s dates from 1846. A beautiful country church, with lovely stained-glass windows, the bells were donated from St Werbergh’s Church, when its bell tower was closed by Dublin Castle, as a security risk. One of the stained-glass windows inside is Evie Hone’s St Fiacre, Patron Saint of Gardeners (1938). The large east window, designed by Joshua Clarke (1904), shows the Good Shepherd, flanked by the Prodigal Son and Good Samaritan. This window was donated by Capt. William Edward Hollwey Steeds, of Clonsilla House, in grateful thanks for his recovery from a serious illness.
St Mary’s Church Hall is a more recent structure, but was modelled to match the shape of the large mausoleum in the graveyard, of the White family. In 1799, Luke White, a celebrated bookseller, bought Luttrellstown Castle from the Luttrells, for £96,000. His family remained in Luttrellstown for 4 generations, many of whom are also buried in the tomb.
Another, (deliberately) less prominent tomb is that of the Luttrell family themselves. Living in the castle for 600 years, there are many Luttrells buried in St Mary’s churchyard, including Sir Thomas Luttrell, who was Solicitor General to King Henry VIII. He gained enormous wealth, from the dissolution of the monasteries, in 1536. Also interred was Henry Luttrell “The Traitor”, who was assassinated in 1717, but dug up and his skull smashed, during the 1798 Rebellion.
There are many other interesting graves in the graveyard:
- Archbishop Patrick Fitzsimons, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin in mid 1700s
- Frances, Lady Newcomen of Sutton (d 1687), whose daughter Catherine was married to Col. Simon Luttrell
- Judge William Wylie of Clonsilla House (who sentenced the 1916 leaders to death) and Agnes Mallin (widow of Michael Malin, leader in 1916)
- David Shackleton and family (who created world famous Shackleton Gardens.
- Honor Guinness, daughter of Lord Iveagh, buried with her husband Frank Svedjar
- Capt and Agnes Steeds of Clonsilla House
Clonsilla Forge
In the triangle outside St Mary’s Church, sits an attractive cottage. No. 1 Churchview, it was formerly known as Clonsilla Forge and was part of the Clonsilla House estate. Built in 1901, by Capt Steeds, it has a black plaque on its side wall, showing a horse’s head, the year 1901 and the letters W.E.H.S. for Willliam Edward, Hollwey Steeds. The original road layout, approaching Clonsilla from the west (before Larch Grove was built in the 1950s), entailed turning left at the cottage, so the plaque would have been very prominent to all those who passed through the village.
Capt. Steeds was a horse breeder, for the hunt and for coaching. At one point, he owned the coaching service from Dublin to Bray (the Reynard) and the coaching service from London to Brighton. Capt. Steeds was also involved in the infamous Clonsilla horse poisoning incident, in the 1880s, where 38 of his horses were poisoned, with 13 of them dying. Capt. Steeds himself died in a hunting accident, in 1913.
Clonsilla Train Station
The Railways came to Clonsilla in the 1800s, with the Enfield line opening in 1847 and the Navan line opening in 1862. The Midlands Great Western Railways (MGWR) purchased the Royal Canal and built the railway line alongside it. Clonsilla’s level crossing is still operated manually by a big wheel, located in the historic Clonsilla Signal Box. It is in fact a replica, the original signal box having been burnt down, in 1923, by anti-treaty forces. Inside the station, there is a beautiful Victorian wrought iron footbridge. Originally located in Tralee, the footbridge was installed in Clonsilla Station in 1981.
Clonsilla played a major role in assessing war horses, in World War I. Mr J.J. Maher, of Williamstown Stud (now Holsteiner Park housing estate) was an assessor for the British government. Horses were sent to Clonsilla, from all over Ireland, to be assessed in the paddocks immediately south of the train station. Those that were “successful” were loaded onto the trains and sent to the docklands, from where they were shipped to the Front.
Beechpark Playground & Park
Formerly part of the Beechpark House estate, Beechpark was itself part of the Lutrrellstown lands, at one time. Situated south of the Royal Canal, the lands in Beechpark parklands were sowed with tillage. Owned by Henry Booth, in the 1830s, the lands were subsequently owned by the Hartley family and then the Shackleton family. The park is very popular with families and hosts sports pitches, calisthenics equipment and a nice playground for children.
Shackleton’s Gardens
Originally a fruit and vegetable kitchen garden for Beechpark House, in the 1980s, David Shackleton transformed it into a walled garden, renowned for its plant specimens. The garden was so famous that people travelled from all over the world to visit it. Restored and reopened in 2017, by Fingal Co. Council, Shackleton’s Gardens is again famous for its rare plants and beautiful glasshouses. Maintained by Fingal and supported by a dedicated group of volunteers, Shackleton’s Gardens is beautiful to visit in all seasons.
So ends our heritage walks of Clonsilla, Porterstown and the Royal Canal. History hidden in plain sight, with lots of natural and built heritage to enjoy!