The heraldic plaque over the porch of 82 Ailesbury Road with the year 1898 gives a hint of the terraced house’s past but not its age. The three-storey 193sq m/2,077sq ft house was built nearly 100 years later when the entire site, on the corner of Ailesbury Road and Shrewsbury Road, was developed by businessman Harry Crosbie. The plan at the time was to knock down Correen, the distinctive Victorian mansion that stood on the 1.5-acre site, and replace it with a dozen houses.
However, the residents on this road are notoriously vigilant when it comes to development and planning was eventually granted to demolish the house and replace it, with an identical façade, with a terrace of just five houses.
Number 82 is one of those houses and when it first came on the market in the early 1990s it sold for around £200,000. It has been a rental for several years although there is no sign of that now as the four-bedroom house has been “staged” for sale.
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This was all the rage 10 years ago at the upper end of the market and for a while it was difficult to find a house that didn’t have a scented candle on the go and bedrooms resembling hotel rooms. Agents say it is coming back, as sellers seek to present their properties in the best light. So while number 82 looks old from the outside – it was a very sympathetic development – inside it’s like walking into a smart new-build with furniture that fits perfectly and neutral colour schemes that will suit most buyers.
Sunroom
Downstairs there are a livingroom to the front and a small diningroom in the middle opening into an eat-in kitchen. Off this is a utility room and a large sunroom opening out on to the garden. The sunroom has been furnished with a dining table, though it is likely that new owners will put a sofa in there and use it as a sunny livingroom.
It is also likely that they will replace the kitchen units – they have been given a coat of blue paint but are dated – and get rid of the bright room’s most unusual feature, the ugly exposed brick surround on the woodburning stove which jars with the elegance of the rest of the house. Upstairs, there are two double bedrooms on each floor. Both bedrooms on the first floor have en suites, and one has a walk-in wardrobe. At the top of the house the other two bedrooms share a bathroom. The terrace shares an entrance, with an electric gate, but each house has its own separate gravelled area directly outside the front door with space for two cars.
The currently rather neglected rear garden of number 82 has a pedestrian entrance out to a lane.
Number 82 Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.75 million.
