The Hill, Monkstown is a hilly crescent of 20 large semi-detached Victorian mansions off Pakenham Road, Monkstown.

Until after 1901, this was called Monkstown Hill.  Accordingly, records such as the Griffiths Valuation and 1901 census show it as Monkstown Hill.

The 1837 maps show a gravel pit occupying much of The Hill.

A map of the late 1840s shows the road layout, and lists one house, Tudor Hall.  In fact, the building shown is the identical pair of revivalist Tudor-style buildings, Tudor Hall and Tudor House.

By 1870, the road looked much as it does today

Tudor Hall/Tudor House

Tudor Hall was an hotel for the first 40+years until the death of Ms Hooper, the propietor.  Among prominent owners in later years were the Coogans - Edward Coogan, TD, his wife, Beatrice Coogan, Author of "The Big Wind", and Tim Pat Coogan, Editor of The Irish Press, Author and political commentator. Tim Pat's memories are available online in his book "A Memoir".  THere is an excellent article by Turtle Bunbury on Tudor Hall here.  A later resident family was the Collins family, of which David Collins was an internationally acclaimed interior designer, and his projects included Claridge’s, The Connaught Hotel’s bar and Nobu restaurant, all in London.

Tudor House was the home of Francis Middleton Bentlyy, after whom Bentley Villas is called.  For more details click here .    Current occupants of the house are the O'Reilly family

Belmont

In 1998 this impressive Victorian three-storey semi-detached house fetched £1,000,050 at a Hamilton Osborne King auction. The agents quoted a guideline price of around £900,000 prior to the sale."The property stands on a third-acre and was originally built in 1840. It has been been completely modernised and now has five bedrooms, plus four reception rooms"

Brockly

Sold for c. €2.6m in 2010

Reduit

Sold for c. €2.2 in 2011

Ard Sonais

Sold for c. €2.5m in 2010

Uplands

In the 1860s, Uplands was the residence of Bishop John Thomas Hynes, retired bishop of Demerara (Guyana).  The diaries of the Rev John Thomas Hynes(1799-1868), a Catholic bishop who retired to Monkstown in 1861-1868 provide a valuable insight into daily life in Monkstown in that period. Hynes lived at Bloomwood, Monkstown Avenue (later renamed as Carrickbrennan Road), and later moved to Uplands, The Hill, Monkstown. The Hynes Diaries recount such details as the coming of gas lighting, the postal and travel facilities, church affairs, and lots of local gossip. The Hynes diaries are now preserved in Melbourne.

An analysis of the 1901 census is interesting.  There were 18 houses with 45 service staff - an average of 2.5 per house.