Back in the 1850s, the well-known Tedcastle coal-merchant family are believed to have built Alderley, a fine big Tudor-style home in the well-to-do suburb of Glenageary.
At some point during the next 150 years, the house, on Upper Glenageary Road, was divided into two semidetached Victorian homes, Alderley and Eagle Lodge. A few years ago Alderley was fully restored, refurbished and extended. It sold in May 2021 for €2.425 million, according to the Property Price Register.
The current owners of Eagle Lodge bought the house in September 2019 for €1.215 million, and refurbished, extended and modernised the property in 2022. They added a huge open-plan kitchen, dining and living area to the side of the house, complete with hardwood and marble flooring with underfloor heating, an impressive feature marble wall surrounding a log-effect gas fire, Calacatta Gold quartz countertops and atrium windows with pendant lighting.
Hidden doors in the kitchen lead to a spacious boot room, with marble flooring, underfloor heating, a Belfast sink and lots of storage for coats, bags, sports gear and what-have-you.
Doors from the boot room and the kitchen open on to a granite slab patio to the back, with side access, so this could be a well-used entrance for busy, active families. The owners also changed a downstairs livingroom to become the main bedroom suite, with a walk-through dressingroom, en suite, and door out to a small, private patio area to the front of the house.
The renovation and extension work has brought the dimensions of Eagle Lodge to 300sq m (3,229sq ft) and the Ber is C3. It is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald asking €2.65 million.
The entrance, at the top of Adelaide Road, is behind electric gates, with gravelled off-street parking for several cars. The front gardens are low-maintenance, with paved paths and patio areas, and an AstroTurf lawn bordered by mature trees and shrubs.
The wide entrance hall has marble tiled floors and timber-panelled walls; hidden behind some of these panels are a cloakroom, guest loo and a study/playroom with hardwood flooring, built-in sliding wardrobes and Velux windows. This could also easily become a second downstairs bedroom.
The main bathroom is also on the ground floor, and has tiled floors and walls, a corner shower suite, and a stand-alone bath. Off the kitchen, dining, livingroom is a handy utility room and pantry, with floor-to-ceiling storage cupboards, Calacatta Gold Quartz countertops, sink unit, large wine rack and integrated Electrolux freezer. A door leads out to a small courtyard.
On the first floor is the grand, expansive drawingroom, with a double-height ceiling soaring to 5.5m, making plenty of room for a huge Christmas tree in the wide bay window.
Period features are all pristine, with ornate cornicing and centre rose, chandelier and feature open fireplace with white marble surround and tiled insert and hearth. There are also cast-iron radiators for added warmth, and working window shutters.
Next door to the drawingroom is the library room, also with decorative cornicing, ceiling rose and chandelier, original timber floorboards and tall bay window with views down Adelaide Road and towards the sea. The room is painted in a warm blue.
Bespoke shelving reaches almost to ceiling height, with a ladder to reach those higher-up tomes. An open fireplace with brown marble surround and mantle is an invitation to sit back and open a book.
When Eagle Lodge was split from Alderley, it created a conundrum: how to access the three bedrooms on the second floor? The staircase in Eagle Lodge only goes up to the first floor, so another way had to be found to reach the next level.
The solution was to create a minstrel gallery and reading area in the library, with stairs going up through the library ceiling and on to the second-floor landing. Grown-ups will have to stoop their heads as they go up, but teens and preteens will surely enjoy ascending to their eyrie after hanging out in the library reading, doing homework, playing board games or watching TV.
Bedrooms two and four are doubles, with built-in wardrobes, and have great sea views over Dublin Bay and out to Howth. Bedroom three has a built-in raised bed with optional second bed or desk, plus built-in shelving and storage.
Schools in the area include Rathdown, Harold School, Castle Park and St Joseph of Cluny. Glenageary Dart station is a short walk down Adelaide Road, and the bustling village of Glasthule is also a short walk away with the busy town of Dún Laoghaire also within easy reach.
