75 Kenilworth Square, Guide price: £1.3 million
Sited almost centrally on the south side of Kenilworth Square, Stirling is a large house longing to be loved. But then, so too is the square itself; originally a communal pleasure garden for local residents, the area is now windswept and desolate, with few obvious signs of maintenance.
Large plate-glass windows on the front of the house overlook this neglected space and a new owner might want either to plant some fast-growing trees to obstruct the view or else mobilise the neighbours to undertake a reclamation of the square.
But, to be honest, the back garden - more than 36 yards deep - scarcely looks any better, with a disintegrated gazebo in one corner and much of the rest in weeds; at the back wall is a small forlorn structure originally built as a garage. But the neglect only helps to enhance the impression of Stirling as a sleeping beauty. Inside, much of the house looks as though it has not been altered since it was built in 1866 for a Mr Kennedy who was employed by Guinness's Brewery. Obviously he held a fairly senior position there, because this is no workman's cottage. The 2,700 sq. ft is mostly spread out over three floors - although there is a wonderful maid's bedroom tucked into the attic giving northward views over the city.
On the landing below hang images once commonplace in almost every Irish home but now something of a rarity: large framed prints of the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary. And in an adjacent bathroom, on the top of the cabinet, stand three bottles marked "Knock", "Medjugorje" and "Lourdes'. The last carries the date 1935.
The four bedrooms on this floor are similarly furnished in a fashion no longer much seen, with heavy oak headboards and large mahogany wardrobes and dressing tables. There is more dark and massive furniture on the ground floor, where the decoration of the principal rooms again recalls a much earlier time: choice of colours is much darker than contemporary taste, with details of the cornice and ceiling roses in the connecting drawing-room and dining-room picked out in deep shades and walls covered in heavy paper. The latter room, despite a large bay window, now looks especially melancholic thanks in part to the massed bulk of items such as an awkwardly-proportioned sideboard and a large dining table with its surrounding set of chairs.
A pantry off this room holds an array of undisturbed china and glassware, as well as a bottle of wine dating back to the 1960s. On the other side of the hall and up a short flight of stairs is a study with the finest fireplace in the house, made of marble in late 19th-century Hiberno-Romanesque style.
The space below was never enclosed, but the rest of the lower ground floor holds a store and utility spaces, a sitting-room and kitchen. Once more there is a sense of time suspended - at least in terms of decoration. The charm of a house like Stirling lies not just in transitory details but, more importantly, in the fittings which remain intact, such as the tall, solid mahogany doors and the window shutters.
Stirling, at 75 Kenilworth Square, will be auctioned by Sherry FitzGerald on May 24th. The guide price is £1.3 million. The auction will take place on the premises followed by the sale of the contents, which will be conducted by de Vere's.
