Ulverton is a large detached, Victorian house on Ulverton Road, in Dalkey, Co Dublin. The 5,500 sq ft home was built in 1897, and perfectly embodies a time when space - and lots of it - was the norm for well-to-do families. It goes to auction on June 7th, and Jackson-Stops is quoting a guide price of £1.2 million (#1.5m).
Ulverton's selling history over the last 40 years provides an interesting snapshot of the property market during that period. In 1961 the leasehold was bought for £1,000; the freehold was then obtained for £4,250 in 1964. The then-owner, Fine Gael politician Thomas F O'Higgins, sold the bulk of the land for development for over £20,000. The present owners acquired the three-storey house, with a much-curtailed garden, for £80,000 in 1984.
The east-facing house retains many of its period features, such as elaborate fireplaces with built-in mirrored over-mantels, stained pitch pine doors and tastefully-simple plaster cornicing. Almost all the rooms are very large, with lofty ceilings. There are nine bedrooms, giving the new owners plenty of scope to put in a home office, an au pair's suite and extra bathrooms.
On the ground floor there are three formal reception rooms: two are interconnected, and all have massive bay windows and ornamental mantels. A large conservatory - home to climbing bougainvillaea and jasmine - opens off one of these rooms. The original red and black floor tiles are intact, but the super-structure has been replaced by a uPVCand-glass framework.
A kitchen, accessed from both the conservatory and a rear hallway, is a comfortable, west-facing room, warmed by a racing-green Aga.
Also on this level are a toilet, utility room and a workroom, which was once the kitchen. On the hall return, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom.
The spacious main bedroom, which has an en suite bathroom, is on the first floor, along with two other large bedrooms - one with a lovely, five-part bay window. Bedroom number six is on the first floor return.
The final three bedrooms - all charming rooms with coved ceilings - are on the second floor.
The two front bedrooms have glimpses of the sea, while the rear one looks across Dun Laoghaire and over to Three Rock Mountain. The present owners of Ulverton are moving to a smaller space, now that most of their seven children have left home. But despite its vast size, this is a manageable and appealing family home.
The rear garden is rather small, but there is a good area at the front with a sunken lawn, mature trees and ample parking for several cars. There is a garage at the side.
