In 1999 Hollywood House, an imposing Victorian two-storey over basement house at Mount Anville Road in Dublin 14, went on the market for £1.3 million. It sold for a little less than the asking price (there had been plans for a new road layout nearby that could have compromised the gardens) so it wasn’t, perhaps, an easy sell.
Given its popular suburban location, it’s not surprising that the buyer quickly put in ambitious redevelopment plans involving an apartment scheme in the grounds.
They came to nothing, and Hollywood House soon changed hands again.
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Over the years the present owner has also tried and failed to get planning to redevelop the site – his plan involved dividing the site and building a small housing scheme. The remnants of that ambition are obvious in the large vehicular entrance punched in the old stone wall along Mount Anville Road but now covered by marine ply.
Meanwhile the house, which is a protected structure built in 1850, was vandalised and fell into serious disrepair, suffering water damage and a fire.
It’s been put right now, though, sympathetically renovated not quite from top to bottom – the basement is in original condition – but enough to make it a very smart family home that’s been a rental for a number of years.
With four bedrooms and three reception rooms over 464sq m (5,000sq ft), it is for sale for €2.5 million by Peter Kenny at Colliers.
Chunky portico
Hollywood House is early Victorian, but has the proportions of a grand Georgian country house. The front door at the top of a short flight of granite steps is the original, a split door topped with a large fanlight with glazed panels on either side. It’s possible that the chunky portico and ornamental parapet that wraps around the front and side were an addition by a later Victorian owner.
Inside, the spacious hall with decorative cornice work hints at the grandeur in the three reception rooms.
To the left is the familyroom with windows at either end, across the hall are two large interconnecting rooms, one a drawingroom, the other a formal diningroom. Both rooms have marble fireplaces and the diningroom has old-fashioned French windows to the garden at the side of the house.
The kitchen and adjoining breakfast room are at the back in a single-storey extension, probably made up of outbuildings that were incorporated into the house decades ago.
The area, since its extensive renovation, has an airy modern feel, with a stone floor, grey timber units made by Andrew Ryan topped with granite. The well-designed space also has a large island unit. There’s a utility room with a door that opens directly on to Mount Anville Road. The breakfast-room and kitchen look out onto an internal courtyard that with a bit of landscaping could be lovely.
Upstairs (the elegant staircase is a fine feature in this house) there are four bedrooms, two particularly large and two other doubles. There’s a shower-room, another small bathroom and the main bedroom has a full bathroom ensuite. As with downstairs, several rooms have dual aspect.
The basement, originally the domain of several servants, looks as if it has been ignored for decades. It’s a very large space made up of several rooms, with the original stone floor and a much lower ceiling than the rest of the house. As it is largely below ground – although there are some windows – it will need a clever design to make it an attractive living space.
Lawned area
The gardens are lovely – to the side is a lawned area. The rest which include the sweeping driveway up to the house, has the feeling of a woodland.
Hollywood House is set firmly with its back to the busy road but there’s no denying it’s there – particularly in the kitchen which runs along the exterior wall – and such proximity will give buyers looking in this heady price range plenty to think about.
Substantial dwelling
According to the agents, there have been pre-planning discussions with the planning department of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council “for a substantial dwelling within the grounds of Hollywood House”. Prospective buyers might be interested in pursuing that but most likely they will instead just want an impressive period house and to keep the lovely private garden for themselves. Indeed their first job might be to source old stone to fill in that ugly marine ply-covered opening in the exterior wall.
