Fresh starts at the end of the line

Three end-of-terrace houses – two Victorian and one Regency – in south Co Dublin combine the charm of their original period features with the comforts of modern living


Claremont Villas is a small cul-de-sac off Adelaide Road, in Glenageary. The row of houses overlooks a green area, southerly in aspect, that belongs to several of the terrace’s residents, and to which all residents are given access, using it for children’s birthday parties, barbecues and family get-togethers.

Number 6 is an end-of-terrace Victorian house, two storeys over basement, about halfway down the street. It measures 298sq m (3,210sq ft) and is asking €975,000 though agents Finnegan Menton.

Granite steps lead from the garden to the front door, which opens into an entrance hall with original ornate cornice work. The drawingroom to the front has a fine marble fireplace and a large bay window with shutters that appear to be painted shut. It overlooks the park. A second reception to the rear also has a marble fireplace and a smaller window that overlooks the back garden. The rooms at this level have 12ft high ceilings.

The first of the property’s five bedrooms, on the hall return to the rear, has a set of steps leading down to the back garden.

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A set of stairs leads down to garden level, where there is another front entrance. The kitchen is to the rear with double doors opening out to the back garden, bounded by granite walls. With a lower ceiling than in the reception rooms and main bedrooms, the kitchen is adequate but feels dark. Pruning the trees to the front would let more southerly light into the dining area of the room.

Bedroom number four is on the hall return and has sea views. Upstairs on the first floor are two double bedrooms, one to the rear with sea views that can be seen from the bed.

The master bedroom, to the front, is the width of the house and by far the most impressive room in the property. It has an elaborate ceiling rose and cornice work, as well as a cast iron fireplace with a tiled inset, fitted with a coal-effect gas fire. Sunlight streams through the bay window. As a bedroom, it is an almost decadent use of such en elegant space; originally this would have been the property’s main drawingroom.

Bedroom number five is on the second floor return.

Parking is on-street. Claremont Villas is not an acess road but adjoins the Dart line.