A large Victorian family house with an acre of ground and a separate coach-house in Howth, Co Dublin, is expected to fetch over £1 million when it is auctioned by Sherry FitzGerald on February 28th. The guide price seems on the conservative side for a property like Blakeney on Thormanby Road, one of the area's best addresses, where property doesn't often change hands. Blakeney is well-positioned at the summit end of the road, with panoramic though distant sea views. A little further up on Carrickbrack Road, large properties rarely sell for less than a million and usually achieve considerably more.
Blakeney, a seven-bedroom property, is set on an acre of lush gardens created by the Wilkes family, who have lived here for over 30 years. They bought the property in 1969 for £14,500. New owners may consider developing part of the garden. There are three separate entrances off Thormanby Road, including a driveway to the converted coach-house which has two bedrooms and its own garden. It could be leased out, or used as extra accommodation.
The main home was built in the 1880s and extended on two separate occasions around the turn of the century, creating a veritable warren of rooms at the back. An attractive timbered verandah over the front door of the main house catches the morning sun. The interior has been decorated in Victorian style, with rich wall hangings and period fireplaces in every room.
Off the wide hallway, the main reception rooms are a comfortable size. A family sittingroom with a window seat in the bay has marvellous views of the sea. Another more formal sittingroom has a deep bay window which was used as a stage by generations of families. The diningroom opens on to a small conservatory which is surrounded by flowering shrubbery. Down four steps, the original flagged kitchen is used by Mrs. Wilkes for flower-arranging; a more modern kitchen has been installed at hall level.
All seven bedrooms have pretty period fireplaces and sloping ceilings. The 23 ft long main bedroom, entered through an en suite bathroom, has a particularly fine marble and tile fireplace. Two smaller bedrooms to the rear have been linked together to make a teenager's study/bedroom suite. One double bedroom has very good sea views. The converted coach-house, made of Howth stone, has a large sittingroom and kitchen, with two good-sized bedrooms under the eaves. It has its own private walled garden, and a yard containing a double garage and several storerooms.
The gardens surrounding the house are superb. Beech and pine woods on two boundaries run down to a lawn, and the mild climate has encouraged a host of rare plants to flourish.
