History homes: Anchored in Howth

EDEL MORGANsteps aboard a nautical house in Howth

IT’S NO accident that walking into the Anchorage, a five-bedroom dormer bungalow on Church Street, Howth, is a bit like stepping on board a sea vessel.

Built in 1928 by Benjamin Newcombe, who was the honorary secretary of Howth Lifeboat and a founder member of Howth Sailing Club, its narrow-plank timber floors are like the deck of a ship. There is plenty of timber panelling and the sittingroom is a cross between the captain’s quarters – all dark woods, giving it an air of authority – and the bridge of a ship, with a large curved window overlooking the harbour.

In the same family for 85 years, the site was acquired in 1926 from Julian Gaisford-St Lawrence; he had married into the St Lawrence family, the earls of Howth.

The Anchorage is being auctioned on May 26th and Lisney is quoting an AMV of €900,000. From the outside, it’s a modest enough bungalow – but on an elevated site, it commands dazzling views of the harbour.

Next door is the atmospheric ruin of St Mary’s Abbey where several Newcombe ancestors are buried, including the current owner’s great grandfather.

The main garden to the other side of the Anchorage is a large flat lawn that has served at various times as a tennis court and a potato garden. Beyond that, there is a smaller fruit and vegetable garden that still has rhubarb and gooseberries, which backs on to a neighbouring house.

You can see the remnants of what was once an impressive garden, with fuchsia and splashes of yellow gorse. In its heyday, this was the pride and joy of Jocelyn Coghlan, Newcombe’s daughter, and she had her wedding reception there. Jocelyn recently died, and her children have placed the house on the market.

Inside, past a tiled porch, there’s a snug area with built-in seating and an ornate mahogany fireplace with a cast-iron inset. Downstairs there are three bedrooms and a sittingroom.

It was from the sittingroom window that Benjamin Newcombe, as honorary secretary of Howth Lifeboat and the person in charge of authorising rescue missions, could survey the scene with his binoculars. Two rockets were fired and the lifeboat crew, who usually worked in the village, would make a mad dash to the pier before setting off on the lifeboat.

This room has a picture rail, cornicing and an attractive 1920s mahogany mantel with an oval mirror inset; like several of the rooms, it’s dual aspect, with views of the abbey and Ireland’s Eye.

There’s a serving hatch from the kitchen and a lovely stained-glass door with a pink flower motif opening on to the verandah.

Newcombe’s wife had a big input into the design of the house and submitted a detailed list of specifications to architects Higginbotham and Stafford on Clare Street, Dublin 2, including that the timber used in the house was to be “well seasoned imported spruce and red deal as specified, free from sap, large or loose knots, wanes”.

Her precision and insistence on the best of materials means the house is in great condition for its age despite the fact that little has been done to it over the years.

A new owner would probably want to update and maybe reconfigure some of the rooms.

The verandah, while attractive, is north facing and that space could possibly be used to extend some of the rooms to make the most of the view. Another room, once used as a diningroom, is now being counted as a bedroom.

There are two further bedrooms at this level with sink units. The kitchen is dated, with a chequer-tiled floor, old white units and a pantry.

Upstairs there are two wood-panelled rooms, one with a bath and sink incorporated into the room, and storage cupboards. There’s another smaller room overlooking Church Street

There’s also a big cellar room that is used for storage and a workroom and a separate garage that is accessed from Church Street.

HOWTH: €900,000 AMV:

Anchorage, Church Street, Howth, Dublin 13

Five-bed in Howth village with dazzling sea views

Agent:Lisney