Such is the reputation of the Upper Leeson Street Area Residents’ Association and its legacy in preservation and conservation that a handsome hardback book has been published to celebrate its watchful work. One of its prime goals from the 1960s was to halt the conversion of residential houses for office use which it felt would have destroyed the character of the area.

The owner of number 41 Upper Leeson Street, architect Martin Reynolds, whose parents bought the house more than 80 years ago, around the time of his birth, has long been an active member of the association and he is now downsizing, selling his two-storey-over-basement house and its mews on his beloved street, through Lisney for €1.35 million.

The pictures show an atmospheric interior with many interesting decorative plaster wall panels but househunters viewing the terraced property, built in the 1830s, will also recognise the updating and renovation the 228sq m (2,454sq ft) four-bed house needs.

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Over the years the internal layout was changed and some original features lost. The two main reception rooms – the front, a living room, the rear, a formal dining room – are as expected in a house of this age and style, and on this hall floor there is a basic kitchen in the first-floor return with metal steps down to the garden. In the basement return is a bathroom.

Original proportions

There are four bedrooms, including one up at attic level – though the upstairs layout will almost certainly be changed by new owners who will want to return it to a layout approaching its graceful original proportions. There is a bathroom on this level and one of the bedrooms – to the front – is used as the architect’s office.

The basement is set out as a self-contained one-bed apartment, with access to the front and to the rear. If it is not to be reincorporated into the house it would benefit from updating. While the rental income could be considerable along this superbly located street – between Donnybrook and the canal – the recent trend on this street has been to return the houses to single family use and new owners will probably seek to use the basement themselves, either as the location for their new kitchen or as additional bedrooms.

To find an original mews in these houses is rare – and this extended and altered one with 65sq m (700sq ft) has living accommodation downstairs and two bedrooms accessed via a spiral staircase. It incorporates a garage space with access out to Sibthorpe Lane for off-street parking which is gated for added security. Again it would benefit from a comprehensive renovation programme. The rear garden is south-facing and the house is set back from the road by a good-sized front garden.