What is recorded here

Kill Abbey stands west of the church in Kill of the Grange, bearing a 1595 datestone that marks its birth or repair. The Espinasse family called it home for generations, surrounded by ancient yew trees and a weathered griffin coat of arms. John Ussher may have built it on land leased from Christ Church Cathedral, creating a compact house where smaller windows climb its floors like a quiet visual rhythm.

In the Dublin RMP (1998) this record was listed as 'datestone' and refers to the 1595 datestone on the house annotated 'Kill Abbey' on the historic OSi maps to the W of Kill of the Grange church (DU023-015001-) and graveyard (DU023-015002-). The house was described in 1896 as; 'the “Abbey" a picturesque and venerable residence of the Espinasse family dating from the sixteenth century' (Wakeman 1896, 407). According to Ball (1902, 47), 'the house called Kill Abbey, which, though it has lost its original characteristics, bears the date 1595 [DU023-015011-], and is surrounded by yew trees of extreme age'. Gaskin (1869, 201) recorded that; 'Kill Abbey, the residence of Richard Espinasse, Esq., J.P. [was] one of the oldest houses perhaps in Ireland, for according to the date over the entrance door it was erected or repaired in the year 1595' (Gaskin 1869, 201). Kill Abbey (NIAH reg. No. 60230126) described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) as a; 'A house representing an integral component of the domestic built heritage of south County Dublin with the architectural value of the composition, one allegedly repurposing a house erected (1595) by John Ussher on a plot of ground leased (1592) from the Chapter of Christ Church Cathedral (Ball 1902, 50), suggested by such attributes as the compact plan form; the diminishing in scale of the widely spaced openings on each floor producing a graduated visual impression with a later surface finish allegedly concealing evidence of blocked-up corresponding openings; the weathered coat of arms showing a griffin rampant; and the high pitched roof' (https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/60230126/kill-abbey-kill-lane-kill-of-the-grange-dublin). Wakeman, W.F. 1896 Proceedings - Descriptive Sketch of Places Visited. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 26, 403-18. Gaskin, J. 1869 Varieties of Irish History: From Ancient and Modern Sources and Original Documents. Dublin. W.B. Kelly. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 12 January 2023

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