Burnaby' s Tunnel is full of light

An Edwardian home in Greystones that’s had a thoroughly modern makeover is for sale for €1.8 million

THE TUNNEL, a substantial family home in the Burnaby in Greystones, Co Wicklow that was renovated extensively five years ago, is back on the market, for sale at €1.8 million. That’s the same as the price paid for it when it sold at auction in September 2003.

Since then, however, the owners have made extensive alterations which, for the most part, have been carried out with sensitivity to the original building and design, and have delivered a bright and spacious home.

The house, which is on a half-acre corner site at the junction of Portland Road and St Vincent Road, was built in 1902 by Amadeus Francis Valentine at a cost of £750. He sold it immediately for £950.

It is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (buildingsofireland.ie), which describes it as a “relatively plain Edwardian suburban dwelling which is lifted out of the ordinary by the presence of a distinctive, somewhat Art Noveau- influenced entrance. Arguably the entrance is totally out of place, but it makes for a memorable composition nonetheless”.

Downstairs is dominated by two areas: the entrance hall and the very substantial kitchen and dining area to the rear. The hall and central stairwell form an axis around which much of the remainder of the house revolves, as it were.

The entrance door and porch – which features a distinctive curved archway above it – contain the original leaded lighting and working doorbell. Inside the tiled open hallway, there is a small open reception room to the right which is currently home to a baby grand piano.

To the left is one of two fine reception rooms. The first has a commanding view over the front and side gardens, contains an original marble fireplace and has a pleasingly high ceiling. A run of four sash windows overlooking the side garden adds to the general feeling of openness.

A small, glazed sunroom links to the rear reception room, which can also be accessed from the hall and which also overlooks the side garden with another run of those sash windows. It has a beautiful inglenook fireplace with twin seats facing each other and, to the rear, a row of high leaded light windows that are also original.

Back in the hall, there is a good-sized office on the left tucked in between the two main reception rooms, a cloakroom and, opposite and behind the piano room, a family room with TV and computer.

Apart from tiling much of the ground floor and installing underfloor heating – which is supplemented by a central-heating system served by old-style cast iron radiators – the major renovation work in 2004-2005 involved building a substantial extension to the rear.

This was done with great sensitivity to the design and materials used in Mr Valentine’s original house. The bespoke kitchen is very spacious and bright, helped by a pitched roof ceiling that is glazed. Nothing has been spared in the installation and appliances, which include an Aga plus a gas hob, two electric ovens, an American-style fridge, granite work tops and central island.

The kitchen and dining area overlooks the rear, west-facing garden and patio. The garden, which breaks naturally into three areas, has lawns, beds and shrubs, all beautifully maintained. The side south-facing garden contains a lovely square pond, the surrounding granite flagstones of which were retrieved from Greystones train station during Dart renovations there.

Downstairs also has a toilet and large utility room containing, among other things, a wine fridge and laundry chute from one of the upstairs bathrooms.

There are four double bedrooms upstairs. Two overlook the front and share a landing bathroom with bath and shower. A third, to the side, overlooks Portland Road and currently contains an iguana (not included in sale). The bedroom has access to a second bathroom with bath and double shower.

The fourth bedroom, the master, overlooks the rear and side gardens. There is a huge, marble clad en suite with bath and shower, a walk-in dressing room with window and wardrobe and a lovely, south-facing bay window.

Overall, the Tunnel is in pristine condition and it seems that little expense was spared during the renovations. The result is a 3,500sq ft home with all mod-cons – including multimedia and sound system throughout – in a delightful Edwardian setting. The agents are Sherry FitzGerald Greystones.