A six-bedroom house on Palmerston Park combines comes with a an extravagantly manicured garden and lavish decor, writes EDEL MORGAN
NADUR, at 7 Palmerston Park in Rathmines, Dublin 6, is a magnificent show-off house with six bedrooms and an impossibly manicured formal garden. It’s new to the market through Sherry FitzGerald, with an asking price of €2.45 million.
The semi-detached house was first owned by one William Francis Cowper-Temple, a stepson of Lord Palmerston, an Irish peer who served twice as prime minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century.
William Francis inherited a number of estates under Lord Palmerston’s will, just one of which was the barony of Rathmines, where Palmerston Park and Road, Temple Road and Gardens and Cowper Road were built; they were named after William and his stepfather. Nadur, which has been renovated and restored, is a sight to behold. Entrance halls tend to be imposing in big period houses, but this one is extra special, with dramatically dark walls, magnificent stained glass around the front door and exquisite plasterwork on the ceiling.
The reception rooms are big, elegant and opulent, with Adam- style fireplaces and lovely plasterwork. The more restrained sittingroom is on the ground floor; the almost theatrical drawingroom, spanning the width of the house, is on the first.
The kitchen, also at hall level, is Chalon, with a terracotta-tiled floor – a nicely judged contrast to the lavish decor in some of the rest of the house.
Upstairs are five bedrooms with cast-iron fireplaces; the study downstairs doubles as another bedroom.
The bathroom, as you would expect, has the look of olde-world luxury, with a cast-iron claw-foot bath, a walk-in tiled shower, period-style toilet and bold red-striped wallpaper. There’s also a shower room with the original polished floorboards and an electronic retractable ladder leading to a floored attic space.
The landscaped formal gardens were designed and are maintained by Paul Doyle, a Bloom gold-medal winner. The look is ordered, immaculate and elegant, with a central lawn fringed by pathways and expertly trimmed hedges and colourful flowers.
The asking price might seem strong, but Christopher Bradley of Sherry FitzGerald says he recently sold 15 Temple Villas, a large period semi nearby, for just under the asking price of €2.55 million.
Nadur, 7 Palmerston Park, Rathmines, Dublin 6
Imposing restored period home once owned by the Palmerstons
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
