Lock, Huband Bridge · Photo: Lobster1 · CC BY-SA 3.0Old homes in Ballsbridge: 35% built before 1919
Against 3.4% in the typical town, Ballsbridge has 10 times the share. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 8 buildings in Ballsbridge. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1780. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 archaeological sites.
typical town: 48
Ballsbridge in 3 photos and 4 old views
Of the buildings pictured in Ballsbridge, Grand Canal is the oldest, from 1780. 3 recorded places in Ballsbridge have a photo. The old photographs show Ballsbridge between 1903 and 1914.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ballsbridge from 1903 to 1914
4 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
1903
1906
1907
c. 1914From Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server: public domain, or from the National Library of Ireland’s collections (Lawrence, Poole, Eason and others) with no known copyright restrictions. Each credit opens the image’s page.
Where Ballsbridge’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is the State’s survey of buildings from 1700 to today, county by county; each record gives a rating, dates, a type and an appraisal. Being on it is not legal protection: that is each council’s Record of Protected Structures.
Points from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and the Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0).
8 historic places in Ballsbridge
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Reg
Reg
RegArchaeology in Ballsbridge
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
7 archaeological sites inside the town
Sites on the Record of Monuments and Places, the statutory list drawn from this record, are protected by law: anyone planning work at or near one must give the National Monuments Service two months’ notice.
| Mill - unclassified3 records |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Water mill - unclassified1 record |
| Barracks1 record |
Only 3.8% of Ballsbridge’s homes were built since 2011 (5.8% is typical)
Only 15% of Ballsbridge’s homes were built in the 2000s, less than the typical town’s 25%. Against a typical 3.9%, 9.3% of Ballsbridge’s homes went up between the wars. Building from 1946 to 1980 fell short in Ballsbridge: 17%, against 24% in most towns.
Census 2022, households by the year their home was built (CSO, Small Area Population Statistics, CC BY 4.0); the typical town is the middle Irish town of 2,500 or more.
Ballsbridge and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballsbridge | 12,743 | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Grand Canal Dock | 8,320 | 320 | 5 | 2 |
| St Stephen's Green | 5,319 | 864 | 40 | 235 |
| Sandymount | 22,340 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Portobello | 5,732 | 408 | 5 | 10 |
| Rathmines East | 16,923 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| East Wall | 15,907 | 122 | 6 | 2 |
Ballsbridge in brief
More of Ballsbridge’s homes are old than in most places: 35% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 8 places on the record. The archaeological record adds 7 sites.
The oldest, Grand Canal, dates from 1780. For its size the list is short: per resident, it has more recorded buildings than only 19% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. Beyond that, most dated ones come from the 16th to 18th centuries; and it has 8 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 32).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The National Inventory. The State’s survey of post-1700 buildings, made county by county since 1990 (NIAH); a few records are older. It records; it does not protect.
- Ratings. International and National: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Regional: in its region. Local and record-only buildings get no page here.
- Archaeology. The Sites and Monuments Record (National Monuments Service) lists known archaeological sites; the national monuments to visit and the sites with an encyclopedia article get pages here.
- Protection. Both registers are surveys, not protection: a building is protected by its council’s Record of Protected Structures, and no national open list joins the 31 councils’ records.
- The grade. Ireland’s History grade is not built yet: the page describes, and gives no grade.
Questions about Ballsbridge’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Ballsbridge?
8 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Ballsbridge?
Grand Canal: the first date on its record is 1780.
Are there archaeological sites in Ballsbridge?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 archaeological sites inside Ballsbridge.
How old are the homes in Ballsbridge?
35% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
Are the buildings on this page protected?
Being on the National Inventory or the Sites and Monuments Record is a record, not protection by itself: buildings are protected by their council’s Record of Protected Structures, which each council keeps and no national open list gathers, so this page can’t say which are on it.
History is described here, not graded.
Source: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0); Wikidata (CC0).
Sources: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (buildingsofireland.ie) · Sites and Monuments Record and the National Monuments Service’s monuments to visit · CSO Census 2022 (homes by the year built) · Photos: Wikimedia Commons, including the National Library of Ireland’s collections, each credited with its licence and copied to our own server · Wikidata (CC0) for other names and articles. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).