Victorian home in Bray with charming interiors for €575,000

Dating from 1869, Somerton, a charming double-fronted detached house, lies off Upper Dargle Road just a short distance from amenities such as Castle Street Shopping Centre and the main street in Bray.

It has off-street parking for three cars to the left of the house via a gravelled driveway, while also benefiting from a pedestrian gate tucked into a thick hedge running across its front boundary, giving the house lots of privacy.

It has been home for the past 20 years to its current owner, who purchased the 130sq m (1,399sq ft) property as a downsizer from a larger home on Coliemore Road in Dalkey.

“We have press cuttings from an old Bray paper from 1990 about a man who lived here for 70 years. His name was Ernie Heatley and he grew strawberries and rhubarb, which he sold in the market in town. He told a story to the paper how he remembered selling a pound of first-season strawberries during the first World War that he sold for a pound and five shillings, which the paper said was equivalent to £200 in 1990.”

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Inside the Chinese wisteria covered entrance, which is flanked by two fine bay windows, lie a livingroom and a diningroom at either side of the hall. Both rooms retain Victorian period features including fireplaces and polished wooden floors.

To the rear is a family room, which would have been the original kitchen as the old hearth space – though now painted white – still remains, and adjacent lies a good-sized kitchen, which was extended in 1990. It is a really bright space thanks to lots of glazing and would benefit from cosmetic upgrading.

Today a good-sized garden, mainly laid as lawn, lies to the western side of the house while a raised private patio flanked by colourful plants is accessed from the kitchen, which is bordered by a wooded area to the rear ensuring lots of privacy.

Upstairs are three bedrooms: two en suite doubles that sit to the front of the property, while a single bedroom and family bathroom lie on the return.

It’s a really lovely home, full of charm and character: “I really love the rooms to the front as they are south facing so get the sunshine all day long,” says the owner, who is downsizing again.

Somerton, which has a Ber of E2, is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €575,000.