Stillorgan home for ‘elderly gentlewomen of slender means’ seeks 475k

The Brewery Road area of Stillorgan, Co Dublin, will be known to locals for the landmark cut-stone clock tower of Arkle Square, a former alms house established in the 19th century by wealthy shipping merchant Charles Shiels.

The original houses on the small U-shaped square, built in 1869, comprised homes originally built for "elderly gentlewomen of slender means" according to historian Peter Pearson, in his book Between The Mountains and The Sea.

The properties were sold in 1986 when a developer added sunrooms to the rear of the original houses, and a terrace of contemporary townhouses.

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17 Arkle Square, Stillorgan, Co Dublin

Number 17 is a charming mid-terrace two-bedroom house. The kitchen is to the front with white traditional-style units set in an L-shape, leading through to the livingroom, also accessible from the hall.

It has an open fireplace, polished timber floors and it opens through to a sunroom, a detail added to all the original houses in the 1980s. This is a great addition to the property as it opens out to a small terrace with a small gate leading out to a communal green area, around which the houses are set. There is a fountain at its heart.

Upstairs there are two double bedrooms each with a dormer window. The master has a shower en suite and the family bathroom is a decent size – big enough to accommodate that 1980s fashion favourite, the corner bath.

The lovely clock tower still chimes hourly, but only during daylight hours. Number 17 is for sale through Brian Dempsey, partner at DNG, Stillorgan, seeking €475,000.

Last October number 23 sold for €557,000 according to the property price register. That four-bed 170sq m (1,829sq ft) was one of the later townhouses built in the 1980s with a private outside terrace.