“I often wonder, when I touch the door handles in our home, who has been through these rooms before us,” says the owner of 26 Longford Terrace in Monkstown.
As it happens, the property was at one time home to Lady Eliza Deane, wife of Sir Thomas Deane, a prominent architect of his day. Their son Sir Thomas Newenham Deane, also an architect, was responsible for some of the capital's most noted buildings, namely the Museum Building in Trinity College, The National Library and the original Kildare Street Club through their company Deane and Woodward.
Other noted individuals who lived in the terrace at the time included Dame Margaret Huggins, known as "the first lady of spectroscopy" and Sir Howard Grubb, who was the first to design a practical periscope for use in wartime submarines. It was also where the third Earl of Rosse, William Parsons, the noted astronomer, retained a residence in Dublin.
Commanding
The handsome property constructed around 1840 is located in a terrace that was described as “an aristocratic and commanding pile” – and it’s not hard to see why. Extending to a very generous 484sq m (5,210sq ft) over four floors, it is a dream home for the same reasons that it would have been when it was first constructed over 150 years ago. It has lofty proportions, huge windows taking in lovely sea views and a location close to the train station, allowing easy access to the city.
Although apartment blocks have since been erected to the front of the terrace, Number 26 sits between them, so the views stretch all the way across Dublin Bay to Howth.
Sitting at their marble kitchen table (a gift from next-door neighbour Francis Barry, an architect and the father of novelist, playwright and poet Sebastian Barry), the owners say they love the light and the views of the constantly changing waters in the bay.
“We swim here from spring till the end of summer and the new cycleway to the front of the house [constructed during the first few months of Covid-19 in 2020] gives the place an almost rural feel, just like it might have been when it was first built. All you can hear on Sunday mornings is the laughter from families cycling by.”
Sewing room
For practical reasons the owners decided to locate their kitchen on the first floor to make the most of the sea views. In its current layout the house has four bedrooms on the top floor, with fine, interconnecting drawing and dining rooms at hall level. Other rooms include a sewing and exercise room along with two home offices, which would also work as additional bedrooms.
The basement is currently a three-bedroom apartment with rental potential of about €2,500 per month. Should new owners wish to have the run of the entire property it is easily reincorporated for single-residence use.
Due to its southerly aspect, the rear garden measuring 55ft (17m) in length, gets an abundance of sunshine and is laid out with lawn, gravel and an outdoor eating space.
Number 26, on this very fine terrace in the heart of Monkstown, is on the market through selling agent Sherry FitzGerald seeking €2.45 million.
