Westminster Road landmark returns to market

FOXROCK €1.65 MILLION:IT'S A safe bet that Grasmere, an impressive and completely refurbished Victorian house on Westminster Road, has been the talk of Foxrock for some time now.

It first went on sale in 2007 for €6.75 million. Now two agents, a steadily falling price tag and an economic meltdown later, it’s on the market for €1.65 million through Sherry FitzGerald.

And for that you get a lot of house: five reception rooms, four bedrooms and a spacious, bright and well-fitted kitchen, all arranged over 347 sq m (3,735sq ft).

The specifications, from the travertine and marble floors to the high-end bathroom fittings, are what would have been expected at the height of the market.

There’s also a double garage, which is an unusual feature these days, as well as a landscaped garden, and parking for two or three cars behind electric gates.

Grasmere originally would have been one of those pretty and imperious houses on large sites that were a feature of this southside suburb.

Then it was bought by David Arnold and Paul Inglis who developed the site, building two enormous houses in the grounds. One of these has just been sold.

Part of that development included extending and renovating the original house, which retains its period feel.

The entrance was changed and moved to the side, and a circular room was added to the front.

In the days when houses were staged for sale there was a grand piano there, but new owners will have to think of another use for the unusual room.

There’s a formal dining room, a cosy study, still with its cast-iron fireplace, a good-sized formal living room and a family room off the kitchen. Most rooms, including those upstairs, are dual aspect, so it’s a bright and airy house.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms: the largest is en suite, and two have separate dressing rooms fitted with custom-made storage. There are two fully tiled bathrooms with designer fixtures.

There is a rambling feel throughout the house that imbues such period properties with their characteristic charm.

Grasmere, Westminster Road, Foxrock

Description: Four-bed refurbished, detached house on 1.4 acres

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald