Selling up and moving next door

Greystones: €3.5m The owners are downsizing but love the area so much that they have earmarked land beside this house, writes…

Greystones: €3.5mThe owners are downsizing but love the area so much that they have earmarked land beside this house, writes Joe Breen.

Lislea, which is for sale at €3.5 million through Lennox Estates, sits on almost half an acre like a picture-book house.

It is on the corner of Portland Road North and Whitshed Road, one of the most picturesque roads in the prestigious Old Burnaby area of Greystones, Co Wicklow.

This is a well-tended, five-bedroomed home of Edwardian idiosyncrasy, with sweeping roofs, intriguing nooks and crannies and rakes of original period detail and charm.

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It is bounded on three sides by restful, well-stocked and relatively low-maintenance mature gardens and an entranceway, with impressive trees and shrubbery.

However, it is something of a shock to see the western-aspect rear closed off, with only about a metre clearance between the window of a converted sunroom and the fencing at the edge of the site of a new 186sq m (2,000sq ft) dormer bungalow due to be built for the current Lislea owners.

It is quite understandable that the owners, who are selling because Lislea is too big now that their family has flown the nest, should want to remain in such a beautiful place, but the current vogue for creating new housing sites from established gardens in many cases compromises the architectural integrity of the house itself.

How planners can sanction such myopic practices is a mystery but then much of what passes for planning in Greystones could arguably fall into that category, not least the imminent grandiose redevelopment of the harbour.

Lislea, with a total living accommodation of around 278.70sq m (3,000sq ft), is in good shape inside though a new owner might like to upgrade the décor and rationalise some of the redundant doors, which are a consequence of rooms being joined, such as the master bedroom and what now serves as a vanity/dressing room.

There is an informal and timeless feel to the porch entrance with an original decorative tiled floor which leads into the roomy reception hall with a wide pitch-pine staircase leading upstairs.

Off the hall there are three good-sized reception rooms with picture windows looking out on the manicured gardens and period fireplaces.

In addition there is a garden room, back hall with guest cloakroom, a homely and large open-plan kitchen/breakfast room with oil-fired Aga and custom fitted units.

There is useful covered patio space outside which would suit entertaining and the house overall has a welcoming air to it.

Upstairs, off the first return landing with its large, wonderfully incongruous ship's window, is the first of five bedrooms, and the main family bathroom, complete with bath, separate shower, wc and vanity unit incorporating a basin.

Off the main landing there are another four bedrooms, some of which are currently being used as dressing rooms or a study.

Aside from the gated elegance of Lislea, golfers may be interested to note that it is but a decent drive down the road from Greystones Golf Club and that it overlooks some of the course.

Lislea is also close to the increasingly busy Greystones town centre with easy access to the beach, Dart and bus, shops, restaurants and bars.

Non golfers need not worry as the Burnaby estate, which commenced in the late 1890s, is also situated close to rugby, GAA and soccer clubs.