Top of the market, top of the hill

A Victorian house on almost an acre of garden in Dalkey has commanding sea views

ST PATRICK’S Day has come and gone and all the good houses are coming onto the market. This house in Dalkey isn’t just at the top end of the market, it’s on top of a hill, with views of the sea from its many tall sash windows that would be hard to beat.

Ardbrugh House, a detached house built around 1840, is perched high on the hill on Ardbrugh Road and looks down over the village rooftops and straight out to sea and over to Howth. For such a commanding house, it’s rather private, hidden from view by tall trees.

It stands on just under an acre of garden – unusual in Dalkey – and at 543sq m (5,850sq ft), with five bedrooms and even more reception rooms, it’s a very large family home. The detached period house is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €3.9million.

There are two storeys to the front and three to the back and the internal layout is designed to make maximum use of the views with the formal reception rooms, family room, kitchen and main bedroom looking out to sea.The proportions throughout are good and there is a great feeling of space on every level.

The front door is to the side and it opens into a small inner hall which leads into a grand hall with the same delicate plasterwork that’s a feature of all the rooms on this level. On the right are the two formal interconnecting reception rooms – the current owners have turned a third, much smaller room off these rooms into a bar.

Most rooms are dual aspect with windows facing in two directions to get the best light. On the other side of the hall is a formal dining room, with a dumb waiter to bring food up from the kitchen, and it opens into what was once the smoking room but could be used as a smaller, third reception room, library or office. Upstairs there are five double bedrooms, one with an en suite, and a relatively small family bathroom given the sheer size and scale of the house.

The most used living space is down at garden level where the country style kitchen – with painted timber units, topped with granite by John Daly and installed about 10 years ago – has two square bay windows and opens out onto the garden and overlooks the tennis court. There’s a large family room and an another room used over the years as a playroom and then as a teenage den. There’s also the usual mix of rooms found in such grand houses including a boot room, a laundry room and bathroom.

The present owners have lived here for nearly 30 years and during that time have maintained and upgraded the house and garden so it is in walk-condition. The tennis court probably could do with resurfacing. A chalet at the end of the garden is used as a games room but could make a fantastic home office. There is also a detached garage and sheds.