Quaint yet unconventional

DUBLIN 17 €875,000:Bow-sided Georgian house that surprises by presenting like a very modern boutique hotel, writes EDEL MORGAN

FROM THE outside Wellfield House, off the Malahide Road in Balgriffin, Dublin 17, is a quaint bow-sided Georgian house with the unusual but attractive addition of a bell tower to the rear.

Inside, however, Wellfield is a bit of a shock to the system as it is like walking into a contemporary boutique hotel – all frosted and clear glass, light woods and double-height walls.

While purists mightn’t like the idea of an old house being gutted to make way for a contemporary one, it is one of the most memorable houses you are likely to see. The transformation of Wellfield was carried out by developer Terry Devey who bought it in the late 1990s and completely redesigned the interior, scooping out the centre to allow a double-height hall, part of which has a dramatic atrium roof.

Prior to Devey’s ownership until about 2000 when he sold it to a private investor, singer Morrissey owned it for a brief period and is believed to have made £900,000 when he sold it in 1997. Before that it was owned by businessman Ulick McEvaddy.

It is due to go to auction on October 31st on the instruction of Simon Coyle from Mazars with an AMV of €875,000 which includes just under two acres of gardens. Lisney is the selling agent. The buyer will be offered the chance to buy two separate lots: a ruined stone stables and ruined house to the north along with 1.26 acres for €150,000 and a paddock to the east of nearly half an acre for €60,000.

Once you get over the high drama of the limestone-floored entrance hall – from where you can see a floating glass bridge above which connects the bedrooms – there are four reception rooms.

Some are bow-shaped and all are painted white with polished timber floors. A smaller room to the front has a fairly prominent built-in curved wooden bar, and is being marketed as “a study” by the estate agent . While most of the original interior is gone, the sash windows and original French doors are intact.

The kitchen certainly commands the attention, being part double height with a massive stainless steel cooker hood, the flue of which extends from the ceiling and must be at least 12ft long. It hovers over a stainless steel island with a six-ring hob. The look is industrial and hardcore and wouldn’t look out of place in a warehouse conversion. The kitchen is huge, with a floorspace comparable to many one-bed apartments. Off it is a rear hall with a utility room and a back stairs that leads up to a big bedroom via a gallery landing where you can look down to the kitchen.

The main staircase off the entrance hall leads up to the glass-floored corridor which links the bedrooms. The trip across the floating glass corridor to the curved main bedroom is fun but not for anyone suffering from vertigo. The bedroom, once a classically decorated boudoir, has been stripped back, with its original ceiling timbers exposed and with steps up to a loft area used for storage.

Another set of steps lead up to a dressing room area and an en suite bathroom where a bath is so sunken that you would have to sit on the floor to lower yourself into it.

There’s also a huge oval Villeroy Boch wash-hand basin and a walk-in shower. On the other side of the corridor are two more bedrooms, both with similarly fitted shower rooms.

The lighting system is elaborate, with enormous racks of spotlights hung very high in some rooms and the corridors washed in light from low recessed spots.

The gardens are very attractive and old style and include a large railed one opposite the house with a neat lawn, trees and a tennis court that needs a bit of tlc. Another garden wraps around the side and back of the house while to the right of the house is a formal garden including a neat lawned area where there was once a pool. Over the wall from this garden you can see a nursing home in the distance which was built on land that was once part of Wellfield but was sold off by a previous owner. There is also a garage.

Wellfield House will be on view Saturday 2-3.30pm.

Wellfield House, off the Malahide Road, Balgriffin, Dublin 17

Description: Georgian house whose previous owners include Morrissey and Ulick McEvaddy

Agent: Simon Coyle