Lismallon is probably what buyers at the upper end of the market have in mind when they talk about “Old Foxrock”. It’s on Westminster Road – which together with Torquay Road and Brighton Road were the first to be developed in the suburb in the mid-1800s when the Harcourt line, £7 for an annual train ticket, made commuting possible. It’s a period house – built in the early 1900s , very large at 386sq m (4,154sq ft), with a substantial and private garden and it’s within comfortable walking distance of Foxrock village. The house is on a corner site with .7 of an acre of beautiful, mature gardens – which currently feature goal posts and a large timber playhouse. Lismallon, with its six bedrooms and family-friendly layout and outdoor space is very much an ideal family home. It’s for sale through Lisney for €2.85 million.
The owners have lived here since the 1980s and are now moving abroad. They both renovated and extended in recent years. First in 2005 when they redecorated throughout, built over the garage, re-did the bathrooms and kitchen and created a large dressing room and en suite for the main bedroom. In 2007 they built on an extension to the side and rear which, in keeping with their interior style, is restrained and respectful of the house’s origins – it’s not, in other words, one of those vast glass box extensions that were all the rage at the time. It blends in perfectly with the Orpen-style house. Building this single-storey extension gave the family an extra reception room, a guest bathroom, a large, bright home office and an octagonal-shaped garden room where they spend most of their time.
The entrance is very old world – two original benches line the elaborately tiled porch – perfect for removing your walking boots. On the left, off the hall is a formal dining room, on the right, a living room. The eat-in kitchen is at the back with an Aga, smart country-style units topped with granite and space for a large dining table. There’s a utility room and a boiler room. The focus at the back of the house is towards the garden and the patio. There’s a picture window in the kitchen, and French doors open out from the mostly glazed garden room.
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Upstairs the six bedrooms are all doubles – two have en suites – and there is also a family bathroom and many rooms have more than one window so it all feels very bright and spacious. The BER is E1 – a low rating and disappointing given the recent work on the house. Lismallon has a garage, electric gates and parking.
Foxrock is one of those suburbs where the property price register doesn’t really give a clear idea of the market because the houses vary so much in style but also in the size of their gardens – some are vast like Lismallon’s and this can be a deal breaker especially in a suburb that attracts growing families. The most recent sales at this end of the market – and houses at the top end are still pricey in Foxrock – were €3.45 million for Brynogue and €2.45 million for Hazelmere – both substantial “Old Foxrock” houses on Westminster Road, and both of which sold late last year.
