In a competition to name the quintessential Rathmines road, Castlewood Park would come pretty near the top. A moderately leafy terrace of Victorian redbricks, it has a classy, lived-in feel to it and a spire on the skyline. Number 26 Castlewood Park was built, with its neighbours, in the 1880s.
The vendors bought and moved in 32 years ago. “It was love at first sight,” Valerie says, “there were hens and a cockerel being kept at the end of the garden, and foxes stealing the hens. We’ve done lots of work since then, changed things around many times, opened up the traditional small return and dark kitchen, converted the attic as the family grew.”
With the family now grown, they are downsizing. They paid IR£48,000 in 1984. Agent Sherry FitzGerald is asking €975,000 for the private treaty sale.
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Valerie is a more than accomplished gardener and the gardens at number 26 have made their mark both in Rathmines (where they are part of the Rathmines Garden Trail) and further afield when featured in the Irish Garden magazine. The west-facing rear garden is a sheltered delight with a dogwood tree, specimen shrubs, roses, daisies, pampas grass, arum lilies, a water feature and much more.
Indoor Victorian features are intact; doors, banisters, coving, ceiling plasterwork, stained glass, sash windows and more are all original. A 169sq m (1,829sq ft) floor space has three bedrooms, two shower rooms, family bathroom, two reception rooms and open plan kitchen /family/breakfast room. The converted attic, with velux windows and storage space, has a floor of 20sq m (215sq ft).
The adjoining sitting and diningrooms are lit by a bay window to the front and French windows to the rear. With folding doors between them, both rooms have maple floors, period fireplaces, original coving and picture rails. Steps lead down to the white-painted kitchen/family breakfast room where the floor is again maple and light comes from three large velux, a panelled glass ceiling over the family area and a wall of glass overlooking the garden. Extensive kitchen fittings include pull-out larders and shelving. A utility room to the side adjoins the enclosed side passage.
The high-ceilinged hallway has a centre rose and cornicing. On the first return there is a pleasant bedroom with built-in wardrobes and good-sized shower room with limestone tiled floor.
A front main bedroom, with two sash windows, cornicing and built-in wardrobes, shares a shower room with a third, rear-facing bedroom. Stairs lead to the attic conversion, in use as a bedroom and with a full, en-suite bathroom.
