The asking price of €645,000 for a property listed on De Vesci Terrace in Monkstown will raise a few eyebrows for those who understand the cachet of an address on one of the finest Regency-revival terraces in the capital. Recent sales on the terrace of 10, three-storey over-basement homes, show that well-heeled house hunters are prepared to pay about €3 million to live on this stretch of the Dublin coastline. A 10-minute walk can have you either on a Dart to town, ready to sail a yacht or to take to the court in the local tennis club, after which you can dine in cool restaurants serving everything from lobster to linguine.
Though historical listings show that there are 10 grand dames on the terrace, now with their associated mews conversions to the rear, three other properties share the De Vesci Terrace address: number 10 was the last house on the terrace, which was subsequently subdivided in to 10 and 10A (Number 10A sold in need of renovation in 2012 for €412,000). Next door, as the road winds into Sloperton, are numbers 11 and 12. (Number 12 also sold in 2012 for €520,000, according to the Property Price Register).
Hidden behind high walls now swathed in autumnal hues of Virginia creeper lies number 11, which has just come to the market through Sherry FitzGerald. It last sold for €505,000 in 2010.
Set behind a blue door proudly bearing its 11 De Vesci Terrace address, it’s a charming spot with a secluded little courtyard out front. Despite its relatively diminutive size, a big selling point of this property is, that along with its peers around the corner, it has access to the near five acres of the private De Vesci Park, with plantings, pathways and all-weather tennis courts.
Houses like these are always interesting as their former uses and site constraints mean they are a far cry from boxed-out designs. Described as a Georgian mews, it is listed as having one bedroom – but there is a separate double-fronted studio with a shower room in the small courtyard that could be used a guest suite. This measures just 11sq m (118sq ft), while the property itself measures 72sq m (775sq ft), and if planning were to permit, the two could be sympathetically integrated with the help of a good conservation architect.
A well-lit, marble-floored dining space (thanks to an overhead ceiling dome) lies inside the front door, off of which lies a pretty, recently decorated Shaker-style kitchen, complete with an Aga. To the rear of the dining area is a cosy livingroom warmed by a gas fire in a marble chimney piece with narrow-plank wood flooring underfoot.
A sweeping staircase leads up to a double bedroom and a good-sized bathroom, while a second bathroom can be found in the small studio in the courtyard.
The Ber rating is F, meaning it will need a bit of work to give a better energy performance, but what is on offer is a rare-enough find; a self-contained Georgian mews in one of the most sought-after coastal enclaves in Dublin. Sherry FitzGerald is seeking €645,000 for number 11, De Vesci Terrace.
