The star of TV series 'Allo 'Alloscoured antiques and salvage stores with his wife Kate to give their Stillorgan home a distinct look, writes EDEL MORGAN
NUMBER 49 Beaufield Park in Stillorgan, Co Dublin is out of the ordinary in at least two respects. For one, it has a claim to fame; one half of the couple that own it is English actor Richard Gibson – who played Gestapo officer Herr Flick in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo.
For another, the house is a one-off and is bursting with character. Most of the furniture and fittings were sourced by Gibson and his wife Kate from salvage yards and antique shops around Europe and the look is mostly cosy country cottage with influences from New England, Victoriana and even old Mexico. The layout of the 1920s house was tweaked and extended after they moved in, in 1999, to give it four bedrooms.
On a quiet street, tucked away behind the Lower Kilmacud Road in Stillorgan village, it is for sale by private treaty through Felicity Fox for €695,000.
The family has lived here for 10 years since they moved from London with their two boys Billy and Patrick, then aged 7 and 3. Kate is from Galway and after spending 20 years in London wanted to move back and start a business here.
Their first enterprise was a film company, followed by a market research company based on Grafton Street. They are planning to stick around Dublin – and are trading up to a bigger house in Donnybrook – not least because their youngest son Patrick (13) is following in his father's footsteps with a lead role in Marina Carr's new play The Giant Blue Handat the Ark cultural centre for children.
The renovation of the former two-up two-down involved extending the property to accommodate three double bedrooms – one with an en suite shower room – and a child’s bedroom as well as a spacious bathroom, with enough space for a bath and large shower cubicle.
Downstairs the chequered tiled entrance hall is all Victorian formality but the reception rooms inside couldn’t be more relaxed and homely.
The original wall between the kitchen and the diningroom has been removed and, using red brick, from the Adelaide Hospital, and a massive 19th century oak beam, which the Gibsons believe served time supporting a church roof and as a cross-beam on a sailing ship, they built a tall fireplace for a Stanley range.
The floors were laid in honey-coloured six-inch oak boards, the walls painted a rich deep red and the ceilings are clad in New England-style painted tongue-and-groove. The Gibsons prefer to recycle old pieces rather than buy brand new so decided not to install a fitted kitchen. They found a selection of sturdy old pine pieces in salvage yards and from antique dealers which they adapted to create a bespoke kitchen.
A vast waist-height pine chest once used in a church vestry now has a Belfast sink incorporated into it – and still has the aroma of old candle wax and pine resin. A smaller vestry piece was adapted to fit the oven and hob.
An 8ft butcher’s block from a shop that closed down in Smithfield is used as a worktop and the kitchen table is made from a carriage wheel with an old whiskey barrel for a base. The place has a whitewashed canopied fireplace and there’s also a large office-cum-familyroom and a downstairs toilet on the ground floor. The bedrooms have a different atmosphere with a decor that’s mostly New England-style understatement.
The family bathroom has an antique cast-iron bath, a sink unit set in a wrought iron stand, a shower cubicle and a painted timber ceiling. Even the landing hasn’t escaped a special Gibson flourish; it features a ceiling beam from a ship’s mast. Outside the rear garden is lawned and paved and has an ornamental pond. There is side pedestrian access.
