A georgian house at 151 Leinster Road, Rathmines, with a mews to the rear, will be auctioned on October 20th by Ganly Walters. The property will be sold in two lots: the three-bedroom house is expected to make over £425,000, while the pretty cut-stone mews house has a guide price of £300,000-plus.
Both estimates seem on the low side, given that two similar houses on the road sold in excess of £575,000 earlier this year. Number 151 is one of a terrace of three mellow brick two-storey over garden houses at the Rathmines end of Leinster Road. The house for sale has a stone archway leading through to the rear garden and mews. The mews, which is currently rented out at £18,000 per year, has been in office use for many years, and the current lease is due for renewal in four years' time. The property was the home of the late Cynthia O'Connor, art gallery owner and historian. Ms O'Connor's son, Sir Robert Goff, made property news last year when he sold Crampton Square, an entire block in Temple Bar which includes the Elephant and Castle restaurant, for around £10 million. While number 151 needs some refurbishment and redecoration, most of the period features are intact and a stylish makeover could produce a really beautiful interior. The sash windows and shutters are all in working order and richly decorative cornicing in the hall and sittingroom is virtually intact.
The house is a manageable size: a wide Georgian front door with a fanlight leads into the hallway, which has detailed ceiling cornicing and carved "door heads" over the entrances to diningroom and sittingroom. The sittingroom is not large, but has a magnificent centre rose, a very interesting carved marble fireplace with mirrored insert, and light from front and back windows. The ceiling has been stippled and a new owner will probably re-plaster. The diningroom opposite also runs from front to back of the house and has a black marble fireplace. Three steps down on the return, there is a small study and a glass lobby to a storeroom, small cloakroom and the garden. A flight of back stairs goes down to the basement level, where the owners have installed a modern kitchen and a family room. There is a small butler's pantry and a glory hole under the front steps.
Stairs, return and landing are well lit by a tall fanlight window on the first floor return. At this level, there is a single bedroom looking out on the back garden. This has fitted wardrobes, an en suite bathroom and a decorative stained-glass window overlooking the side of the house. Two double bedrooms, also with en suite bathrooms, are on the first floor to the front of the house. One has mirrored wardrobes and a period fireplace and the other is very large with a marble fireplace.
Between the house and the mews is a cottage-style garden of about 55 ft. The two-storey mews is bound to generate considerable interest. Apart from the income, the cut-stone building is exceptionally pretty. It has a floor area of around 1,000 sq ft with potential to extend subject to planning permission.
The ground floor consists of an open plan office unit and kitchenette and there are two offices and a bathroom upstairs.
While there is a side entrance to the mews, the owner will retain a right of way to the side driveway from Leinster Road. Should the house and the mews be sold separately, the contracts provide for the construction of a new boundary wall.
