Wellington Road, Ballsbridge, is one of the more gracious of the city's 19th century roads. The land was part of the Pembroke Estate and the houses were built at different times during that century, which makes for a surprising variety of dwellings. Number 36 Wellington Road, for sale through Ganly Walters, is listed and was built in the mid-1850s. The agents are seeking offers of more than £1.25 million (€1.59m) at auction, which will be held on June 13th.
A three-storey-over-garden-level house, it has original plasterwork, doors, sash windows and more. It also has a pair of fine, ground-floor reception rooms, four/five bedrooms and a family-living area at garden level.
The third storey, a self-contained suite to the rear, has views over the rooftops but cannot be seen from the front. A bonus for some potential buyers may be the addition of office space to the rear.
The reception rooms are spectacular both in size - they measure 38 ft by 33 ft - and for the exuberant character of the plasterwork. Shuttered, sash windows to the front and rear throw plenty of light onto the elaborate architraves over the double sliding doors, the cornices and centre roses. Both rooms have white marble fireplaces, one with a delicately tiled inset, the other with a gas-fired stove inserted.
A door toward the end of the entrance hallway leads to the stairs and the first-floor return where there is a guest toilet and cloakroom. A fanlight adds interest to the area, as do the bright yellow walls.
On the first floor proper there are two bedrooms to the front, both with cast-iron fireplaces, and a stylish, Victorian-style family bathroom with polished timber floorboards and free-standing claw-foot bath which will be sold with the house. A door on this landing leads to a third bedroom/ study and a timber staircase with metal frame which climbs to the eyrie-like second-floor suite. The main shower-en suite bedroom is here, in a white painted space which is flooded with light from Velux as well as conventional double-glazed windows.
On the garden level return there is another guest toilet and, a few steps down, two Velux-lit rooms which extend into the rear garden and serve as offices. On the lower ground level there's a dining kitchen with the original, very large flags and a gas-fired Aga. A window overlooks the front garden and doors lead to a separate front entrance and to a working galley kitchen To the rear, overlooking the garden and separated from the dining kitchen by an inner lobby, is a family room with cast-iron fireplace.
The rear garden is made private by an eight-foot-high redbrick wall and a wealth of mature and exotic trees and bushes, including a huge magnolia and a flourishing, yellow peony tree.
