Wide, leafy and arguably one of Dublin 6’s most sought-after addresses, Temple Villas is a subdued, redbrick Victorian terrace of large houses at the end of Palmerston Road in Rathmines. Number 14 Temple Villas is delightfully itself, the layout, design and original features all unchanged since it was first built in 1895. It is probably no coincidence that number 14 carries a cheerful sense of its Victorian origins and of the lives of families who have lived there over the years.
Comfortable and well-cared for, it has been a family home to the vendors since 1991. They had it reroofed and repointed, had sash windows reconditioned, cornicings repaired, floors polished and a conservatory added.
Frieze
A frieze running between picture rails and cornicing in the 14ft high, traditionally adjoining reception rooms is something rarely seen now – made all the better too because of the light spilling through large front and rear sash windows.
Fireplaces in both rooms are marble and large, with tiled insets and gas fires. Doors have finger plates, ceilings have restored centre roses and the floors are of polished timber.
Sherry FitzGerald is asking €3.65 million for this house with a decent floor space of 290sq m (3,122sq ft) plus planning permission to extend the kitchen. It has four reception rooms (including the sunroom) five/six bedrooms (one in use as a study), two bathrooms and guest WC. The front garden has a large, gravelled area for off-street parking.
A walled rear garden has a stone-paved patio, good lawn, high walls and a variety of fruit, Birch and holly trees and lavender plants. Number 16 Temple Villas (with a dug-out basement, making it larger than number 14) sold for €3.495 million in 2012. The same house was sold for €3.95 million in 2014, by which time it had had a kitchen extension.
Glasswork
The front door has particularly lovely coloured glasswork, with the number 14 artfully inserted over the door. The hallway itself is wide, with the dado and picture rails that are a feature throughout. The rear, quarry-tiled kitchen/breakfastroom has an Aga, polished granite worktops and could probably do with some modernising.
A one-time bedroom with cast-iron fireplace on the first return is now a pleasant study. Three bedrooms, including the main one, are off the main, first floor landing, all with cast-iron fireplaces. The family bathroom, which also has a shower, is on two levels and has a claw-legged free-standing bath. There are two bedrooms on the second return, as well as another bathroom.
