The Donnybrook end of Dublin’s Herbert Park, for those lucky enough to live there, is one of the capital’s loveliest leafy enclaves. The houses along this stretch have the advantage of being exceptionally close to town – a 15-minute walk – while also enjoying proximity to one of Dublin’s most elegant amenities, Herbert Park. It’s a carefully manicured park designed more for gentle perambulation than the rough and tumble sprawling acres in the outer suburbs.
Located off Herbert Park is Argyle Road, a short street where the houses rarely come on the market. It was on this road that George Crampton, builder of the fine houses on this and surrounding roads, lived until he died in 1925. Crampton was also responsible for the National Concert Hall, Wynne's Hotel on Abbey Street and the Bank of Ireland on O'Connell Street.
Now number 5 has come to the market through Billy O’Sullivan at McNally Handy, and the asking price of €3 million reflects the pristine condition of the 279sq m (3,000sq ft) property. With their two children grown, the owners, a doctor and his wife, have decided it’s time to downsize.
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“We are sad to be leaving, but we decided before retirement comes upon us that we want to downsize. We’re big into sport and cycling and when that time comes we plan to head off biking around the world so we want to just turn a key in the door and head away, without a worry,” the owner says.
Improvements
When they do move on they leave behind substantial work and improvements made to the house over the past 25 years. The layout of these houses tends to be fairly uniform with interconnecting reception rooms, fine double-height hallways, and rear kitchens that more often than not are reworked as expanded dining/living areas. When the owners first moved in architects Crean Salley were engaged to add a clever study, interior courtyard and family room where there had been a side passage. Bright Velux and floor-to-ceiling windows throw plenty of light into these spaces and they have stood the test of time well.
The two interconnecting receptions have lovely proportions and enjoy dual aspect via a seated bay window to the front and floor-to-ceiling French windows to the rear. The décor is more formal to the front, centred by a fine marble fireplace, while the back room has a more “clubby” feel with a leather suite complementing the wooden Edwardian fireplace typical of the era. A bespoke white-painted kitchen with an Aga and granite-topped island at its heart strikes a good balance between contemporary and traditional.
What really elevates number 5 is the finish added when a second refurbishment was undertaken about 10 years ago when the owners decided it was time to rework some of the spaces for a new way of living.
Offaly-based joiner Walter Byrne completed an extensive carpentry job throughout adding panelling and shelving in the study and family room. More cream-painted panelling on the stairs, in the oak-floored hallway and the upstairs bedrooms, bathrooms and landing add a hotel-quality finish. However the piece de resistance is the dressing room adjoining the master bedroom. Originally a double bedroom it has been entirely given over to carefully crafted solid oak wardrobe storage and shelving, with a pretty window seat for pondering the next outfit.
There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor – one of the bedrooms, a single, is currently in use as a second dressing room but would make an ideal nursery. Upstairs in the attic space is a very fine double bedroom that retains the fitted wardrobes and bespoke wood finish evidenced throughout the house.
Buyers might look at reconfiguring the accommodation layout. Two sizeable bathrooms are situated back-to-back, though there is no bath, nor are any of the bedrooms en suite – a must-have for some house hunters.
It’s a bright house, helped greatly by the addition of a floor-to-ceiling arched window in the master bedroom, and lovely original stained glass windows on each of the stair returns and in the original front door.
The modest rear garden is southwest facing and low maintenance with a large flagstone patio, mature planting and raised flower beds surrounding an artificial lawn. The owner says they installed it having tired of traipsing their racing bikes across the lawn to the Shomera at the bottom of the garden, and then walking mud all over the house.
Recent sales
Last year three Crampton-built semi-detached houses around the corner on Herbert Park, numbers 8, 10 and 12 each achieved between €3.675 and €3.8 million. Across the street, number 11 sold for €2.5 million. More recently, on Argyle Road, number 8 sold, in need of refurbishment, for €1.9 million. In a neat twist, the buyer of that property turned out to be Kildare-based George David Crampton, a director of the renowned family building company.
The owners of number 5 won't be travelling too far from home, as they plan to take up residence at a new luxury apartment scheme, Lansdowne Place, currently under construction on the site of the former Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge.
