There's a charming air of stepping somewhat back in time at No 13 Bushy Park Road. It is unlikely of course that this will survive new owners, who will no doubt want to put their own stamp on a property that has been in the same family for more than 100 years.
"My grandfather definitely had it in 1918; he came back here from the first World War, invalided at the end with measles, although he'd survived all the rest," says Jane. The grandfather she's referring to is Arthur Aston Luce, the noted Trinity College philosopher, and precentor of St Patrick's Cathedral, who not only survived the war, but was awarded the Military Cross for his services with the Royal Irish Rifles.
“Then my parents moved in, in the 1950s – that was after the maids got married,” Jane continues, showing me the pantry off the kitchen that had been one of the maids’ bedrooms.
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“She was probably quite pleased to go,” I remark, as it’s quite a small space, though Jane tells me they still came in to take care of the family. To make life easier, the old range was removed, and a newer cooker put in, and the plumbing was updated. I’m pretty sure an Aga will go back in when the house changes hands. You can still see original wallpaper in the diningroom, which has a nice bay window at the front of the house.
Move things around
The house itself rambles over four floors, giving you four bedrooms, and a lovely sunny livingroom on the first floor, although new owners will almost certainly move things around to get some (pretty unheard of in Victorian times) ensuites in. The bedroom at the very top – a spacious double – is a lovely room. Up in the eaves, it has an open fireplace and views of the mountains, as well as of the cricket nets on the High School pitches just behind.
Overall the house, which is for sale at €1.675 million with Lisney, has 280sq m (3,014sq ft) of living space. On the ground floor this is laid out as a diningroom, off the hall to the left, with a kitchen beyond. Then there’s a drawingroom on the right that leads to a small sunroom overlooking the garden. There’s also an office space, and garage, but there’s plenty of private parking at the front, this can become more living space too.
Very special garden
The garden is special. West-facing and sheltered, it's very private, and a real suntrap. "Erskine Childers lived next door," says Jane. "It was always said that Dad was in his pram in the garden when the Black and Tans came through and over the wall to arrest him. They used to call it Ambushy Park, " she adds with a smile. It's hard to imagine those turbulent times now, as the road is one of those highly desirable addresses, linking Rathgar and Terenure.
Jane's father John Luce inherited both a love of chess and keen academic ability from his own father; he was professor of classics at Trinity, and wrote on philosophy, Homer and the legend of Atlantis, all of which makes me think there must have been some fascinating dinner-table conversations at number 13. Perhaps these took place over fish: A Luce was a keen fisherman, and he wrote a book, Fishing and Thinking, saying to his students, "fishing and philosophy: trout and truth!"
There’s an air of peace and quiet throughout the house, and layers of family history. There’s also lots of scope for the new owners to create a lovely family home, picking and choosing from all the original features, while updating to make a house to last, perhaps, for another hundred years.
