Dating from the 1830s, De Vesci Terrace remains one of the most popular stretches of residences in Monkstown. A fine example of a Regency revival terrace, it comprises just 10 houses – two storeys over basement – all of which have mews or stabling to the rear.
Facing westwards and overlooking De Vesci Gardens, the terrace was added to the Record of Protected Structures as it “forms a coherent architectural and historical unit, which merits designation,” according to a Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council appraisal.
Stipulations at the time of construction were that the terrace be rendered with Portland stone-coloured plaster, a marked departure from designs of tall redbrick Georgian townhouses in the city.
Houses here tend to come to the market only when a family is moving on. Recent sales include number 6, which achieved €2.675 million in 2021; number 7, which sold for €2.8 million in 2021; while number 3 achieved €2.8 million when it was on the market seeking €3 million in 2020.
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Numbers 5 and 6 form a breakfront, creating a central form, and the front roof parapets of both houses support a figure of twins from Roman and Greek mythology: Castor and Pollux.
Besides being the emblem of the De Vesci family, after which the terrace is named, the twins are said to be the patron of horsemen, pugilists and sailors, the last of which are said to send favourable winds. Therefore, the location of number 5, which has just come to the market through Sherry FitzGerald, is apt; if you happen to have a boat, you can be on the water within a matter of minutes. The house is just around the corner from a number of yacht and motor boat clubs.
Number 5 was purchased by its current owner in 2009 for €2.8 million, and they set about restoring the elegant double-fronted property. “Back then the basement was laid out as six flats, and the house had no heating – but that meant the floors hadn’t been touched or drilled into so all the floors are original,” says the owner.
About €500,000 was spent on renovations, and a superb extension was added to the rear. That provided an extended livingroom at garden level and an extended breakfastroom at hall level while it added an en suite for the main bedroom on the top floor. With a wall of glass overlooking the rear garden, it’s all about the night skies overhead as this bathroom has a glass ceiling, which you can see from rear elevation photographs.
The owner decided to place the kitchen just inside the front door of this 387sq m (4,165sq ft) house. While being practical it also takes into account its westerly aspect allowing sunlight to the front during daytime with sun to the rear in the evenings.
To the rear of a contemporary blue kitchen surrounding a large island lies a breakfastroom, which has access to the rear garden – as does a large livingroom that spans the entire depth of the house – at garden level.
To the right of the main hallway lie more formal interconnecting reception rooms, with lovely period features such as an oriel bay window with working shutters, ornate ceiling work and marble fireplaces.
Upstairs are four bedrooms: three good sized doubles and a single, while two further bedrooms, one of which was used as a gym, can be found opposite the livingroom at garden level.
In addition, the property has a cut stone mews. Measuring 101sq m (1,087sq ft), one en suite double bedroom lies upstairs alongside a living area, while downstairs houses an integral garage and storage room.
Between the mews and house is a landscaped garden, designed with minimum maintenance in mind, where an Astroturf lawn is interspersed with topiary hedging and mature plantings.
One of the real gems of this terrace is its link to the five acre De Vesci Park opposite, to which all residents have keys. “It’s a fantastic amenity as besides tennis court it has held kids birthday parties and even a neighbours wedding,” says the owner.
While there is on-street parking to the front and in the mews garage, there is also parking to the rear on a private gated laneway complete with EV chargers.
Number 5 De Vesci Terrace, a spacious elegant Regency house in walk-in condition, a five-minute walk from the village of Monkstown, and Ber exempt as it is a protected structure, is now on the market seeking €3.25 million.
