A mid-19th century terrace house of ‘villa-style’ design looking out onto seafront. Houses of this era and location were often built as holiday dwellings for city-dwelling landowners. This house forms part of an elegant and well-proportioned streetscape set back from the main road with a generous depth of front garden. As recognition of the architectural importance and aesthetic quality, the house is a protected structure. The plan type is a single storey over basement ‘villa-style’ dwelling with four rooms over four with a central corridor on each floor. The main living rooms on the upper floor have high ceilings and generously proportioned windows, taking advantage of the coastal views. This plan type was used frequently in Dublin coastal suburbs from the mid-1850s. The granite entrance steps are simply executed with a plain cast iron railing topped with a flat bar handrail, turned neatly on the second step with a fleur-de-lis cast iron facing piece. The round-headed door opening has a cobweb fanlight, painted door surrounds with cornices and friezes supported by foliate console brackets and a timber panelled door. There are timber sliding sash windows six-over-six pane on the upper ground floor and three-over-six pane on the lower ground floor. The lower ground floor has external access by a small door under the granite entrance steps.

Due to the existing levels on site and the split-level design of the extension, it appears as a single storey addition to the rear of the house. Although contemporary, the scale and form of the extension is sympathetic to the house and the limited palette of high-quality materials ensure a juxtapositional yet harmonious addition to the Protected Structure, ensuring existing features are retained and the character protected. Although sympathetic, the extension reads very strongly in context. The central arrangement on the plan, with the upper part of the extension, is on an axis with the pathway and front entrance steps. Internally in the existing house the high ceilings and generously proportioned timber sliding sash windows to the main living rooms, with central entrance doors and surrounds and the detailing of the roof and chimneys combine to present a fine example of late Georgian ‘villa-style’ residences which have stood the test of time. The five houses have their lower ground floor level below front garden level and the entrance steps lead up to the front door at upper ground floor level. The rendered finish to the lower ground floor serves to form a plinth which separates it from the brick-faced upper ground floor to the main living rooms. All lovingly restored.

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