Impressive gardens ensure privacy in pre-war home

Hernshaw, detached and on nearly half an acre at 7 Hillside Drive, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, is very much of its time. Built by Stringer in 1938, the house is solid and spacious with superb, classically laid out gardens at the end of which there is an air raid shelter.

Musty and spooky, the shelter is a feature which places Hernshaw firmly in the mid-20th century. With a floor area of 3,168 sq ft, it has four bedrooms, an attic/bedroom with balcony, and three reception rooms, most of which are to the rear of the house and so overlook the south-facing gardens.

The gardens themselves back on to the greens of the Castle Golf Club, adding to the sense of space and privacy. The sale is being handled by Lisney, who are guiding £1m-plus in advance of the 27th September auction.

Hernshaw has been home to the present owners, who bought it from the late Justice Kingsmill-Moore, for 23 years. Kingsmill-Moore, a keen gardener, was responsible for a landscaping plan which includes a central, sunken pond with sentinel evergreens, herbaceous borders, mature trees and a hedged-off area which was once a vegetable garden but is now a second lawn with rockery and, of course, that air-raid shelter.

In the house itself feature details such as wood panelling in the reception hall and a curved, rear elevation with double bay windows add to the sense of period. Double-glazed replacement windows have been given a decorative, leaded-glass detail and a front porch with brick pillar has also been added.

The drawing room is a double-sized, L-shaped room filled with light and the reflected mood of the gardens. The white-painted wood surround fireplace is gas-fired and has shelving on either side.

The diningroom has a wide bay window overlooking the gardens and timber ceiling beams. The kitchen/breakfastroom has a linking arch. Grey and white predominate in the workmanlike kitchen area where there is an Aga and a full range of floor and wall cupboards. There is a large wellfitted utility area. Off this is a guest lavatory and an all-purpose room with perspex roof and tiled floor. It opens to the rear garden.

Changes have been made to the original first floor layout, notably in the addition of a large en suite to what is now the main bedroom. The bedroom itself has a window over the rear gardens and a built-in mahogany wardrobe, with an additional walk-in wardrobe replacing the earlier en suite facility.

The new en suite is spacious and well appointed. The second bedroom is good-sized with a curved bay window and a sink discreetly hidden in a section of the built-in wardrobe. Set into the wall of the third bedroom is an original, electric fireplace. A curiosity piece in pale blue tiles, it is several inches off the floor and has vertical electric bars. The fourth bedroom has built-in wardrobes and, this time, a window on to the front of the house. The family bathroom is at this level.

A second set of stairs leads to the attic bedroom with balcony and wide patio windows. Storage space has been built into the eaves.

The gardens must have another, and last, word. Two large and mature spruce trees, one blue-green, the other bright green, give a touch of grandeur and rose beds line up on either side of the sunken pond.

The lawns are manicured and the borders flourishing with a mixture of shrub and bush. Side entrances lead to the garden and utility area. There is a cobble-lock driveway to the front with parking and a semi-circular lawn.