On an elevated site on the corner of Ballymun Road and what locals still, after 35 years, call the “new road”, Griffith Avenue Extension, Windemere is probably one of the largest houses built by the great 20th century builder Alexander Strain in Glasnevin.
He built the other semidetached redbrick houses on this stretch of Ballymun Road but Windemere, which is a detached two-storey house completed in 1918, came later.
The current owners bought the roomy family home nearly 30 years ago and are now downsizing from the 232sq m (2,500sq ft) five-bedroom house.
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It is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.5million.
When they bought Windemere there was planning permission for apartments on the site – something they duly ignored, instead opting to update the house.
They kept most of the period features (not the original windows though) including the encaustic tiles in the porch and sunroom, and the plain Edwardian coving, picture rails, floorboards and fireplaces in the reception rooms .
They also reworked the kitchen area at the back, which was a series of small rooms, making a large, modern eat-in kitchen.
The most distinctive exterior features are the two deep curved bay windows on either side of the house at ground level – each one belongs to a reception room on either side of the hall; both spacious rooms with high ceilings.
The room on the left, used as a diningroom, opens into small old sunroom.
The hall – a large square room with a fireplace and elegant, curved staircase – is a particularly lovely feature.
Upstairs are five bedrooms, one with an en suite showerroom, and a dated family bathroom. Several bedrooms have original fireplaces and are duel aspect.
The large mature gardens wrap around the house on three sides and, to the front, what was originally a small garage has been extended by the owners for use as a large workroom.
New owners will most likely do what the current owners did when they moved in – they will embark on an extensive renovation and redecoration programme. Given the demand for Strain redbricks – his houses in nearby Iona always prompt strong interest – it’s likely that they too will ignore the development potential of Windemere’s corner site.
