Arklow Railway Station · Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0Arklow has 72 buildings on the National Inventory
Old homes stand out in Arklow: 7% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. The oldest record dates from 1740. Arklow has 54 buildings on the record for every 10,000 residents, against 48 in the typical town. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 7 archaeological sites inside it.
typical town: 48
34 photos of Arklow’s landmarks
Pictured and oldest in Arklow: Arklow Bridge, 1750. Of the places on Arklow’s record, 28 have a photo here. You can start with Arklow Railway Station and Arklow Bridge.
Arklow BridgeRegional rating (NIAH)
Saint Gabriel's CemeteryRegional rating (NIAH)
Shop, 59 Main Street, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH)
OrmondeRegional rating (NIAH)
1798 MonumentRegional rating (NIAH)+29See all photosPhotos 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.
Where Arklow’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).
72 historic places in Arklow
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 27, A to Z
45 recorded by their type and address
45 are recorded only by their type and address: 41 homes, 2 other buildings and 2 inns, shops and warehouses; most date from the 19th century.
Saint Mary's Terrace and Lower Main Street have the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Of the 72 records, 60 give a street address.
In Arklow, homes lead the record (76%)
1945 brings Arklow’s record up to its newest entry. The runner-up group is public buildings: 5 records. Leading the record by rating: P. Boland and Arklow Bridge.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Arklow’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
2 of the 72 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is P. Boland, from 1740.
Archaeology in Arklow
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.
| Graveyard2 records |
| Historic town1 record |
| Religious house - Dominican friars1 record |
| Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Battlefield1 record |
Just outside Arklow: 19
| Shelton AbbeyNational rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Glenart Castle (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
| SheltonvilleRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| ArdoughRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| BeulahRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| WindsorRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| VirginiaRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Arklow Methodist ChurchRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| GlenthorneRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| GrianánRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Abercorn Masonic LodgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Mausoleum, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| House, 10 Ferrybank, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, 27 Ferrybank, Dublin Road, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, 57 Ferrybank, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, Ferrybank, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, 58 Ferrybank, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, 23 Ferrybank, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, 56 Ferrybank, ArklowRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
The biggest share of Arklow’s homes dates in the 2000s: 30%
New building in Arklow runs at the usual pace: 4.9% of homes date from 2011 on, the typical town 5.8%. More of Arklow’s homes than usual date between the wars: 5.8%, against 3.9%. In Arklow, homes from before 2001 outnumber all those built since.
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.
4 notable people born in Arklow before 1900
From Daniel Murray (1768) to Theresa Kearney (1875): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Everyone born in Arklow → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Arklow and its neighbours
Arklow in brief
Old houses are part of Arklow’s character: 7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 72 places on the record. On Saint Mary's Terrace alone there are 8 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 76%, are homes.
Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 53 of 72. The oldest, P. Boland, dates from 1740. Of the 4 people born here before 1900, the best known include Daniel Murray (1768), William Fawcett (1851) and Kate Tyrrell (1863). Otherwise the figures are ordinary: it has 72 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 32); and per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more.
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 Arklow’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Arklow?
72 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Arklow?
P. Boland: the first date on its record is 1740.
Are there archaeological sites in Arklow?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 archaeological sites inside Arklow.
How old are the homes in Arklow?
7% 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.
This page describes its history; it gives no grade.
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 and English Wikipedia for people born here · 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).