Bedford Lodge, on the edge of St Anne’s Park in Clontarf, was built as a country residence in the early 1800s. William Chaigneau Colvill, who later became governor of the Bank of Ireland, resided here before the lease was taken over by Benjamin Lee Guinness as part of the expansion of St Anne’s Estate in 1854.
The Guinness family spent 85 years developing the estate but in 1939 the near-500-acre park and its buildings were sold to Dublin Corporation for about £55,000. Included in this sale was Bedford Lodge, which is at the front of the park, facing out to the bay. The early-19th-century property became the headquarters of the parks and landscape department of Dublin City Council (then Dublin Corporation) from 1978 to 1995, when it went on to the market and was bought by its current owners.
The owners, who were not sure what to expect when they got stuck in, recall the house had shutters on the front door, with 14 offices inside and severe rising damp in the basement.
In its original form, Bedford Lodge was a typical Georgian farmhouse that was meticulously symmetrical, with a balanced layout inside. The two-storey-over-basement property had an annex added well before its owners took it on, and then they added a more recent two-storey extension during their renovation.
Many of the original features, such as the doors to the reception rooms, had been removed over time, but the owners found a few surprises when they started to pull the house apart. Behind pink tiles and layers of paint were beautiful fireplaces in the main reception rooms; there was an original stove below the drawingroom in the basement area; and two elephant carvings remained on the surround of the front door.
The house is entered by granite steps up to the front door. Inside, there is 536sq m (5,769sq ft) of floor space. The hall is larger than in most farmhouses as the staircase has been moved to the back of the home. The reception rooms are on each side of the hallway, both with fireplaces and sash windows looking out to the front of the house.
The owners were ahead of the times with their indoor courtyard. Not wanting to encroach on the neighbours in the cottage behind them, they decided to extend the sittingroom by creating an outdoor space with a wall behind with light coming in from above. The plant-filled room at the back of the drawingroom adds a Moroccan vibe to the Georgian house.
The back of the house has been modernised to allow for a large kitchen, which opens into a family room that has a door out to the front garden and a Stovax stove.
Upstairs are two large bedrooms that mirror the reception rooms below. Both have en-suite bathrooms and breathtaking views over Bull Island, St Anne’s Golf Club and Dublin Bay.
Downstairs at basement level are two more large rooms like the ones above, as well as a utility room, shower room and wine cellar. One of the main rooms was mostly used as a bedroom by the owners, while the other is a private and quiet study.
A door from here leads into the newer annex. This two-storey extension is like an independent townhouse with a livingroom, bathroom and fully fitted kitchen on one floor, and two bedrooms and a shower room upstairs. It has its own separate entrance at the front of the house and a small private garden, making it a great option for adult children, older parents, or extra income as a letting.
The 0.6-acre garden is a thing of beauty with oak trees, silver birch, chestnuts, palm trees and evergreens creating a screen around it. The large lawn has a graceful weeping ash in the centre with plenty of space left for a treehouse and zipline for the kids. There is also a potting shed and workshop to the side, and a large patio area outside the house with a hot tub under a gazebo.
The Ber-exempt property has been well kept over the years with a roof restoration carried out in 2006, and a new boiler installed last year. It is fitted with an alarm and a security system, but the owners have said they have never had any issues as not many people are aware that the house is even there.
When you close the gates behind you and stand in the garden, it is difficult to believe you are in Dublin city. It feels a million miles from civilisation with the mature trees blocking out the road to the right and the trees from St Anne’s to the left and behind, only adding to the sense of solitude. With uninterrupted views of Bull Island in front, this northside gem still feels like a country residence after all these years. Its is on the market with Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €3.25m.
