The development of Herbert Road in Bray began in the mid 1800s. Laid out by – and named for – the honourable Sidney Herbert on part of the Pembroke Estate, it became a place for fresh sea air as an escape from city smog. It started in earnest with the advent of the Dublin to Kingstown railway, which first serviced the Wicklow town in 1854.
Over the years, many grand dames on the road – and indeed in the vicinity – have had their lands reduced in size to accommodate new developments, fuelled by the rising demand for housing.
Varying architectural styles on the road include the Italianate influences of Mount Herbert and Ardmore House (now film studios) and the nuanced Tudor style of William Fogerty’s Violet Hill.
Kilbride Hill House is described as “an attractive house” of “eclectic form and appearance” with “its individual personality” on the Buildings of Ireland website, and furthermore, the site suggests its original name was actually Kilbride Tower. It has just hit the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €2.45 million.
Having been home to the Danish government in Ireland, which, according to current owners, “spent a fortune on retaining and restoring its period features”, it last came to the market in 2021, when it appeared on the Property Price Register as having sold for €2.2 million. That would have been for the house on an acre, with the remainder of lands – amounting to nine acres in total – being sold separately.
Surrounding lands have now been developed with 33 recently completed homes in the lush woodland setting, leaving the period home standing on a reduced and more manageable three acres.
In terms of privacy, a new hedge has been planted and as it’s 6ft high, so a year or two will provide more.
Perched on an elevated site just off the N11, the property dating from 1880 has a wealth of period features inside its beautifully preserved entrance. Of note are marble chimneypieces, ornate plaster and woodwork – especially door pediments in the main reception rooms – coupled with elaborate external brickwork and stone columns with decorative quatrefoils.
Thanks to its meticulous preservation under the tenure of the Danish delegation, recent additions such as rewiring, new boilers, kitchen bathrooms and floors mean this house is in full turnkey condition. Essentially, it combines magnificent period details with contemporary comforts for 21st-century living.
It also offers quite a bit of space: 560sq m (6,027sq ft) to be precise.
Having all the bells and whistles for entertaining, you can see why the Danish government chose this spot with views to the surrounding Wicklow Mountains. Yet it’s about a 30 minute offpeak spin to the city.
Beyond the two elaborate entrance halls, where you could accommodate at least 100 people for drinks, lies a contemporary Fitzgerald’s kitchen and breakfastroom. New seating at the bay window is a spot for morning coffees, while contemporary decor creates a super contrast with the period marble fireplace and exceptional cornicing in the room.
This space leads to an equally impressive diningroom, which is bordered by a games room housing a petit bar service area, which was presumably a busy spot during embassy soirées. Across the corridor is a superb, well-lit drawingroom.
There is also a gym and study along with a sumptuous powder room that would give any five-star hotel a run for its money.
The main house has five bedrooms in total with a further bedroom in a fully renovated one-bedroom apartment which has independent and in-house access, so is perfect for staff. There’s further accommodation in a coach house, suitable for a multitude of uses.
Besides being a sizeable turnkey pile, it’s a smashing house in terms of light, elegance and elaborate features, and its three acres will keep those with a penchant for gardening endlessly entertained.
Kilbride Hill House is a protected structure and is therefore Ber exempt. This means all the headaches of renovation have been weathered by someone else and all new owners have to do is decide which of the fine reception rooms should host the housewarming.
