Victorian family home is spacious, private

One of the dozen semi-detached Victorian houses on St James' Terrace, Clonskeagh is to be auctioned by Lisney on June 6th with…

One of the dozen semi-detached Victorian houses on St James' Terrace, Clonskeagh is to be auctioned by Lisney on June 6th with a guide price of £1.65 million (#2.1m).

Situated at the top of Eglinton Road in Donnybrook, these houses combine space and privacy - qualities made more desirable by the houses' proximity to the city centre. Prices have risen rapidly on the terrace since the mid-1990s.

In 1997, number 2 sold for over £710,000 after it was withdrawn at auction. In 1999, number 11 sold for £1.46 million. Last year, number 7 was sold for over £2.6 million.

Number 3 has been lived in by the same family since 1949, when the current owner's parents moved their young family there. It is a very spacious home with four reception rooms and four bedrooms in the main house, as well as a self-contained two-bed apartment at garden level.

READ MORE

Most of the original features have been retained, including lovely wooden panelling, plasterwork and fireplaces.

A front hall with decorative arched niche leads to a back hall with stairs and reception rooms and a door leads down to the garden.

The drawingroom stretches across the front of the house with two big windows and a white marble fireplace, but the room behind, now used as a diningroom, would make an equally splendid drawingroom, as it has an enormous original square window looking out over the large, private back garden.

Also on this level are a long kitchen, a cloakroom and a big family room, which was once the upstairs of the coach-house - located to the side of the house - but which is now accessed through the kitchen.

Upstairs, there are two very large bedrooms, one a good size and the other a small one, in use as a study. There are two bathrooms upstairs. At garden level, the separate apartment has a big sittingroom, two big bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, study and original wine cellar with vaults. This apartment has its own hall door to the side and a door into a small, private, hedged-off garden area.

Outside, the front garden is hedged and gravelled and there is space for at least six cars. To the side, an archway leads to a small courtyard and the old coach-house - now a large garage and workroom. Behind this is a small slate-paved yard with fuel storage and toilet. The back garden, which is not overlooked, stretches to 175 ft and is immaculately maintained. It features trees and shrubs, a wide expanse of lawn, a private patio area and a wild garden at the end with winding paths.