Some of the nicest old houses share a sense of their past with you. This isn't dull and dusty history, rather the fascinating stories of how people used to live. At Aylesbury on Glenageary's Adelaide Road, there's an original layout in which two huge bedrooms were serviced by sleeping arrangements for five servants. There are also, apparently, Masonic features to be discovered here and there, as the house is said to have been built, around 1878, for a Grand Master Symes.
More recently, the two parts of the house have been knitted together, so that while it rambles through its 390sq m (4,200sq ft) of accommodation in a charming way, it all fits together well. Central heating was added sometime in the 1980s. Later again, a contemporary kitchen extension, which also includes a den, sun room and utility room, was added. Off this is a semi-separate area including two bedrooms, a bathroom and a store room. In all, the house has five to six bedrooms, depending on how you need to use your space.
So, if grand masters liked to be outnumbered by their servants, and late-20th century citizens preferred the comforts of en suites and central heating, what about today? The coach house, while it looks old, is of a more recent construction and is currently used as a store room and play area. The gardens make the house completely private and quiet, and they include a three-hole putting green. In 2006, this newspaper reported the sale, by Sherry FitzGerald, as believed to be just over €7 million. Now it's on the market with Turley Property Advisors for €2.7 million.
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Elegant carved staircase
Granite steps lead to the front door. Inside, the hallway has an elegant carved staircase and alcoves, and leads through to a drawing room that has its own raised patio.
The house has been rented out in recent years, and while everything is in place, including high wooden ceilings, bay windows, marble fireplaces, feature arches, an Aga and a highly modern kitchen, new owners will probably want to touch it up here and there.
Downstairs you also get a sitting-room, large study with bay window, dining room, and the newer kitchen complex plus those additional bedrooms. A patio wraps around, and outside mature planting, hedging and lawns make it all very oasis-like. Upstairs the dual aspect master bedroom has a truly fantastic dressing room and en suite. The second bedroom (also en suite) is pretty lovely, too.
Electric gates offer seclusion, and there’s plenty of parking plus an inner courtyard with even more.
Adelaide Road is quiet and leafy, leading down to Glenageary Dart Station, and from there it’s a short step to the sea and the village.
People in this area don’t tend to be outnumbered by servants any more, but the amenities are still seriously fine.
