Saved by the (church) bells in Rathmines for €825k

Mid-terrace early Victorian on Bessborough Parade has been upgraded and extended and has a courtyard surprise

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Address: 5 Bessborough Parade, Rathmines, D6
Price: €825,000
Agent: Savills

Bessborough Parade is a peaceful little terrace of just 16 houses off busy Mount Pleasant Avenue. The graceful street follows the curve of a tributary of the Swan river that bounded the site when it was built in the 1840s. A cul de sac, it also offers access into the back of the Church of Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners.

Number 5 is a mid-terrace early Victorian property that has been upgraded and extended and now extends to 133sq m /1431sq ft.

It has ceiling heights of 2.7m in its interconnecting reception rooms. These have matching reproduction cast-iron fire surrounds with tiled inserts. The living room, to the front, faces south and is gorgeously sunny while the dining room, accessed via a pocket sliding door with glass panels, is much more an after-dark room, sandwiched between the living room and the kitchen, and accessed via a set of steps.

Kitchen area

The eat-in kitchen is bright, airy and housed in a double-height space. The current owners added the terrazzo-look tiles and painted the sloped timber ceiling white to better reflect the light washing in through the roof lights. There is underfloor heating throughout while the cooking part of the kitchen has more conventional ceiling heights and conceals a large pantry, and a small utility and guest wc.

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The garden, while small and north-facing, is beguiling thanks to the smart use of warm terracotta brick and cobble. There is an outside well, complete with water feature, which the next owner could explore piping into the house and do away with the possibility of household water charges in the future.

Upstairs there are two good-sized doubles on the first floor. These both had small en suite bathrooms that the current owners removed but the plumbing is still in situ should the next owner want to reinstate.

When the owners bought the house, the room on the hall return had been an office with a wall of glass doors overlooking a Juliette-style balcony into the kitchen. The current owners did away with the glass doors and turned it into a more solid room except that it no longer has windows and can’t technically be called a bedroom under building regulations. At its peak the vaulted roof is 2.4m high. The measurement to the top of the walls is 1.9m. There is a smart shower room to its rear.

Out front there is a small railed garden. Parking is on street. The property is seeking €825,000 through agent Savills.

Alanna Gallagher

Alanna Gallagher

Alanna Gallagher is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in property and interiors