Untouched for decades, a house on leafy Leeson Park needs everything - and nothing. Kevin O'Connor admires a true Victorian.
Anyone wishing to sense what "old money" means in property should take themselves along to Leeson Park, one of Dublin's gracious wide streets of Victorian elegance in Dublin 6.
Here is number 18, a three-storey house of high, spacious rooms, with the light pouring in front and back through high, sash windows, overlooking a 100ft garden. There is ample room in the front for a coach and horses - that is, space for his and her Mercedes and a Jeep for weekends.
Those vehicles - plus a horse box - fit comfortably into the front gravel of a nearby house. The luxury of "off-street parking" frees friends and visitors from the anxiety of meters or clampers.
All that, and more, are redolent of an era when space was not a premium, when cook, maid and gardener occupied the basement and life was altogether different.
How different can be gleaned from the bell-pulls still hanging in the kitchen, whose clanging sent servants hurrying upstairs, to landing, diningroom, drawingroom and bedrooms.
Again, all steeped with bright light, even on an overcast May morning, which is surely the best time of day to appreciate this exuberant tribute to a builder's skills, circa 1863.
Built when Ballsbridge was a suburb and Donnybrook was "trade", this, truly, is how life was lived in old Imperial Ireland, with Trafalgar motifs in sandstone over the wide porch and light spilling everywhere, onto to upper landings from skylights and into the basement from wide windows.
The Victorian age may have been one of gaslight (piping still visible) and gloomy in décor but, by golly, did they relish their light for reading and card-playing. And no amount of modern downlighting or electrician's promises will brighten with the same effect as nature's bounty.
It's a large house on three levels, each of about 93sq m (1,000sq ft). The basement was for servants, the hall floor had two drawingrooms, the upper floor had two or three large bedrooms, and all levels have toilets.
Now the basement could be a huge kitchen-cum-living space for the new family. Hall level (first floor) could become party and leisure rooms, with an office or home work space. The second floor could house a magnificent set of master and junior bedrooms.
New money is burnishing the faded elegance of old money, in this magnificent tree-lined streetscape. All levels have original cornices and stucco work intact. The house has a good vibe, one senses it was a happy home for the previous family, whose parents are deceased. Sherry FitzGerald is quoting an AMV of Have you got €5million? It will cost that, at least, by the time you pay the actual price at auction, plus fees and stamp duties.
Never mind the €4.5 million which Sherry FitzGerald is quoting, being a sprat to catch a mackerel.
Mind you, if you are a sharp mackerel, you will note the possibilities of a new mews in the back garden, because it has separate lane access. There, you've got a million back already, so go for it.
Meanwhile, Lisney is selling nearby number 16 Leeson Park, a similar redbrick semi-detached house divided into flats. It too has a 100ft back garden. The AMV is €4 million and the auction date for both properties is June 14th.
