Charming Foxrock home nearing its centenary for €2.15m

Dating from 1925, St Andrew’s on Gordon Avenue in Foxrock has changed quite a bit over its near-century of existence. In great condition, with well-maintained interiors and gardens, the family who live here have the framed plans of the original house on the wall of their home.

“They were given to the previous owners by the first residents of the property and we too will pass them on to new owners. They told us it is one of the oldest houses on the road,” say the current residents, who purchased it in 1994. “Back then it was in its original format and measured around 1,000sq ft. When we first moved in, it had no shower or heating and there were just two plugs in the kitchen: we had to have the tumble dryer in the bedroom for about a year until we decided what to do with the house.”

Although today it is known as St Andrew's, it began life in 1925 as a cottage called Old Bawn, and was designed by architect Edwin Bradbury who lived nearby at The Cotswolds, on Westminster Road. Bradbury, who designed the buildings for Herbert Park in Ballsbridge and the Masonic Hall in Edenderry, was also responsible for many alterations to the Royal St George Yacht Club along with installing the largest plate-glass window in Ireland in 1916, at 16 South Great George's Street in Dublin city centre, which received much media attention at the time.

In 1995, the owners – who have since raised their family here – engaged architect Brian Donovan to modernise the property and then in 2004 a large extension overseen by architect Gerry Irvine, which gave a more spacious kitchen and drawing room, was added. That year, modern touches such as underfloor heating were also installed to make the house what it is today: a charming four-bedroom period home with a generous 263sq m (2,835sq ft) of floor space.

Almost a century since it was constructed, with careful design and meticulous upkeep, it is a smashing house. Pale oak flooring runs through the entire ground floor and every room – with the exception of the new principal bedroom suite – has a fireplace, with an impressive bespoke pale sandstone chimneypiece by Artefacture as the focal point in the main drawing room. “It is particularly lovely at Christmas with garlands and candles,” says the owner.

The generous gardens extend to one-third of an acre and are mostly laid out with lawn surrounded by mature shrubs and copses of trees which provide colour and privacy, and where the children of the house played when they were small.

In turnkey condition, St Andrew's is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €2.15 million.