Houses built by Alexander Strain in Dublin tend to be sought-after because they are solid family homes with good gardens, and attractive details such as stained glass, picture rails, simple oak fireplaces and bay windows as well as nicely proportioned rooms. They are also, now, in very mature areas with many amenities within easy reach.
Armagh-born Strain built extensively in Drumcondra and Glasnevin, starting in the 1900s, and Cremore, near the Met Office and named after the birthplace of his father, was one of his final estates.
He sold the three-bedroom semi-detached houses upon completion in 1932 for £1,000 through an ad in The Irish Times in which he asked prospective buyers to apply directly to him at the fine house he had built for himself at 24 Cremore Park.
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Nearby, 20 Cremore Park, which has been in the White family since the 1950s, is for sale. Its owner Martin White, before he passed away at the age of 102, held the distinction of being the oldest holder of an All-Ireland senior hurling medal for Kilkenny.
He and his wife brought up a large family in the house which meant extending to the side – over the garage – and rear. It is now a five-bedroom house of 180sq m (1,938sq ft) which Sherry FitzGerald is selling for €650,000.
Large mature garden
Extending at the back means that the two interconnecting living rooms now have a third living room added, so when the original sliding doors are pulled back this is one large room.
The hall originally opened into a breakfast room and scullery but the Whites built a two-storey extension creating a large parlour in their place as well as the kitchen and downstairs shower-room.
Upstairs, off a half landing, is the first of the five bedrooms: a double one was built over the garage. Up another half flight and off the main landing are four more bedrooms, three doubles and what Strain referred to in his original ad as a “box room” or a single bedroom. There’s a large family bathroom and one of the bedrooms has a shower-room en suite.
The back garden is a good size with trees, shrubs, lawn and flower beds and as well as off-street parking to the front there is a garage.
This house has a BER of F, an indication that new owners will do work, from the basics such as rewiring and new windows to updating the decor, the kitchen and bathrooms. And there is scope to do more – subject to planning – such as extending into the garage area if more space was required.
