Beachfield is a classic early 19th-century Dublin townhouse in an unexpected location. The suburb of Sutton, in the shadow of Howth Head, is about 12km north of the city and its classic Georgian terraces and squares where most such houses are found.
The house, in an enviable seafront setting on Strand Road, is for sale through Savills with an asking price of €1.95 million.
But even that hefty price tag – and the need for a fair amount of money to be spent on upgrading – doesn’t buy detached privacy. Beachfield is, in fact, semi-detached and access is via a shared driveway to a gravelled forecourt (with ample parking for both houses). It has its own private garden to the side.
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Originally built in about 1840, the three-storey- over-basement house is being sold by the Jones family, who have lived there since the 1950s.
The principal rooms are southwest-facing and provide uninterrupted, stunning views across Dublin Bay, with the Dublin and Wicklow mountains beyond.
During the first World War, Beachfield was used as a convalescent centre for wounded officers, the soothing sea views surely providing some solace to traumatised young men returning from the horrors of Flanders.
Although in need of a makeover, it has been well looked after. Original features such as fireplaces, ceiling plasterwork and shutters are intact, although the windows in the front of the house have been replaced.
The living space is currently arranged as a four-bedroom residence of about 300sq m (3,231sq) on three floors; and a self-contained two-bedroom basement apartment of about 88sq m (950sq ft).
The apartment has a large living/kitchen/diningroom, a shower room, two bedrooms and a small yard. It could be let to provide a rental income or integrated into the main house by reopening a back stairway.
Sunset
The main entrance to the house is up a flight of granite steps. A spacious, bright hallway leads to living- and diningrooms separated by folding doors; and a kitchen and utility room, which both need modernisation.
A drawingroom on the first floor is perfectly positioned to watch the sun set on Dublin Bay.
Two bedrooms on the first floor and two on the second are served by one bathroom (and lavatories on each return) but there is plenty of space to add another bathroom or en suite facilities in a bedroom or two.
Outside, the former coach-house to the rear has been converted into a mews and is owned separately. It overlooks Beachfield's kitchen vegetable and herb garden. A side garden with mature trees is more private. Sutton Dinghy Club and a small pebbled beach are just yards away.
Sutton village with its attending amenities is about 1.6km away; a cliff walk of about 5km takes you to Howth. Sutton is about 25 minutes from Connolly Station by Dart.
