If ever a house was true to its origins and time, this is it. Period perfect, 11 Gilford Terrace is Victorian in mood and in fact, from its location in a cul-de-sac bounded by a high granite wall to the arched windows in its brick façade and ledge and brace doors throughout.
Originally known as Tram Cottages, the Gilford Terrace houses were built as homes for employees of the Dublin United Tram Company and are acknowledged as the best examples of estate houses built by a transport company for its employees. There are 18 altogether; number 11 is one of four larger, two-storey, corner houses built for inspectors.
The vendor bought number 11 in 1988 and has carefully preserved its original features or, as with an antiqued pine fireplace in the living room, replaced them with period examples. There are three bedrooms, a family bathroom, living room and kitchen/ breakfastroom over 800sq ft (73sq m). Agent Felicity Fox is quoting an asking price of €495,000.
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The breakfast/dining area is framed by an arch of exposed brick and sits pleasantly into a niche created by a deeply set bay window.
The kitchen area has a working fireplace, tongue- and-groove presses and a pale green painted wood floor.
Ceilings are surprisingly high and, particularly in the living room, give a sense of space. The bathroom and utility are part of an extension on the ground floor; the former is blue-tiled and has generous storage in built-in wardrobes.
Stairs lead from the living room to the first floor bedrooms, all of them with cast-iron fireplaces and sloped ceilings. There is free street parking and a colourful rear yard suitable, as the vendor says, “for bikes and bins but not a picnic”.
