Number 21, an executor sale, is a big project that is in original condition and has been vacant for several months. Before that there were several tenants living at the address, but the set-up was "more like a commune than the traditional period sub-division", explains agent Stuart Walker of auctioneers Vincent Finnegan.
That commune set-up saved the house from being destroyed by ugly partitioning. Its period features – wedding cake coving, geometric ceiling roses, picture rails, architraves and marble fireplaces – are all intact.
The end-of-terrace house is set over four floors and is situated next door to the cut stone Presbyterian church on York Road. At 322sq m (3,465sq ft) in size it has plenty of room, but a lot of that space is taken up with statement hall and landings.
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Gorgeous granite steps lead up the hall floor where the ceiling heights of almost three metres (12ft 6in) make the entrance lobby, tiled hall and a spacious inner hall feel even bigger than they actually are.
There are two reception rooms on this floor, a fine-sized rectangular room to the front with bay window and grey-and-black striated marble fireplace, and a second square-shaped room overlooking the garden. To the rear is a smaller room that could be a kitchen. An adjacent door leads down steps to the rear garden.
There is a bedroom on the hall return and another to the back of the first floor.
The grandest room in the house is on the first floor and spans the width of the property. Historically, this would have been the drawing room, but it will most likely become the master bedroom. If you stand in the bay window you can see the sea.
On the second floor there are two more bedrooms. What is now a kitchenette could become a bathroom.
At garden level there are several rooms panelled in 1970s fake wood. The ceiling heights here are nine feet (approx 2.75m). This could become a very smart self-contained unit with its own separate side entrance, providing the next owner with a revenue stream.
Parking is to the rear. The north-west facing garden is planted with mature trees that shield the garage from view. Several neighbours on the terrace have built a mews house on this site, subject to planning.
York Road is a very busy thoroughfare. Triple glazing may be a consideration for the next owner.
Trafalgar House, on the other side of York Road, is a four-bedroom Victorian red brick detached house which was divided into two apartments when it sold for €1.2 million in 2005. It went back on the market in 2007 completely remodelled and returned to a family home. When it changed agents last August the asking price of €1.4m was dropped to €1.3m. The 260sq m (2,800sq ft) house has fine period features and a south-east facing garden.
