Cutgranite and Hollybrook House was built in the 1830s adjoining the demesne of Lord Meath at Kilruddery. The building was divided into five separate residences in the 1970s. One of these is for sale by private treaty for £465,000 (€590,550)
Wide wooden stairs lead into a reception area on the first floor gables in Bray
Hollybrook House, just outside Bray, is a fantastical cut-granite Gothic structure - all high chimneys and sharply-pointed gables. Part of it, gutted many years ago by a fire, is just a shell, with windows gazing into the sky. The neo-Tudor house, designed by William Vitruvius Morrison, was built in the 1830s for the Hodson family, and the extensive demesne adjoins that of Lord Meath at Kilruddery.
The building was divided into five separate residences in the 1970s. One of these - at a safe distance from the ruined part - is for sale by private treaty through the Bray office of Jackson-Stops, asking £465,000 (€590,550). Number 4, Hollybrook House is a tall, thin, terraced house, three storeys high with the upper level lit by Velux roof windows. At present there are three bedrooms, but the new owners may wish to change the layout of the house, which is somewhat flexible. On the ground floor, there are two bedrooms. The one at the front is dominated by a fine bay window with stone mullions and would make a superb study. The bedroom at the rear has a three-part window looking out on to a raised lawn. It has its own en suite shower room and dressingroom, both quite compact. The family bathroom - an internal room with no windows, and tiled from floor to ceiling - is also on this floor.
Wide wooden stairs lead into an open-plan reception area on the first floor, simply painted in white and with timber floorboards. The room has two tall, southwest-facing windows in the "sittingroom" end at the rear, and another window in a nook.
There is plenty of space for a dining table, without the room feeling cluttered. The adjoining kitchen, painted a pleasant primrose yellow, has tiletopped, fitted units and room for a breakfast table. A utility room, with a tiny Gothic window, is next door.
Upstairs, at the top of the house, there is a bedroom with a small, narrow room off it, at present used as a study, which could be converted to a dressingroom, or nursery. There is also an en suite bathroom.
The ceilings at this level are very steeply pitched, creating a cosy, intimate atmosphere. At the rear there is a glimpse of the Sugar Loaf Mountain, and at both front and rear there is an intriguing view of the house's many chimneys - each one different from the next.
The house is approached through stately granite gate posts, and the long drive travels through mature trees inhabited by countless song birds. The odd pheasant shuffles across the avenue. Parking is in a large communal space at the front. The long, L-shaped back garden is laid out mainly in grass and flower beds, and a small greenhouse is concealed at the end. A stone patio abuts the house.
