Immortalised in verse and song, Raglan Road is a gorgeous place to live. The tree-lined avenue in Ballsbridge's embassy belt, just south of Dublin city centre, may not be quite as grand as Wellington Road, which it runs parallel to, but it is equally quiet, even though it's just a few minutes' walk from bars, shops and restaurants. Now two houses that almost face one another, both set well back from the road, have come up for sale at the same time.
1 Raglan Road
Number 1 is a four-bed, four-bath end-of-terrace home, built by the Pembroke Estate in the mid-19th century, that is on the market for €4.5 million through Allen & Jacobs. With 394sq m (4,240sq ft) of accommodation spread over four floors, it has plenty of period charm, with high ceilings and fine plasterwork.
It also features a full home office at garden level – including its own boardroom, study, library, bathroom and kitchen – that could become a self-contained unit.
In the upper part of the house, the current owners have moved the main kitchen down from the first floor to hall level – a smart move, as the eat-in space now looks over the lovely rear garden.
The main drawing room is on the first floor, directly above the dining room, and perfectly proportioned for everyday use. Both have marble fireplaces. The main bedroom is also at this level; it has an en-suite bathroom with a separate shower and bath.
The other three bedrooms are on the second floor; two of them share a Jack and Jill bathroom, with another shower room on the return at the top of the house.
Read our full review of 1 Raglan Road here
4 Raglan Road
Number 4 also has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, but it is a little smaller than number 1, offering 260sq m (2,798sq ft) of accommodation over three floors. This semi-detached redbrick home, which was refurbished in 2012, is on the market for €3 million through Finnegan Menton.
The main entrance is via wide granite steps that lead to a columned and porticoed front door. The drawing room , to the front, has a narrow set of interconnecting doors to the dining room.
The kitchen, which is down a level and to the rear, has polished-granite countertops on units that run the length of both walls. It opens through to a living room that features a wood-burning stove set into an exposed granite chimney surround.
Three of the bedrooms – two doubles and a single – are on the top floor, with another on the return below. The main bedroom has a fine en-suite bathroom with a separate shower and free-standing egg-shaped bath.
To the rear of the house is a paved sunken garden with a lawn surround.
Read our full review of 4 Raglan Road here
