Exhibit 23.1

                         Consent of Independent Auditors

The Board of Directors
Provident Bancorp, Inc.:

We consent to  incorporation  by reference in the  Registration  Statement  (No.
333-49344) on Form S-8 of Provident  Bancorp,  Inc. of our report dated December
10, 2004,  relating to the  consolidated  statements  of financial  condition of
Provident  Bancorp,  Inc. and  subsidiary as of September 30, 2004 and 2003, and
the related consolidated  statements of income,  changes in stockholders' equity
and comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended September 30, 2004,  which report appears in the September 30, 2004
Annual Report on Form 10-K of Provident Bancorp, Inc.


/s/ KPMG LLP


New York, New York
December 13, 2004


                                      108