Classic Victorian gem

HOW high will the high house go? A slender and elegant three-storey Victorian house, Trefusis, on the Victoria Road in Cork city, has caused a flurry of viewings since the For Sale sign hit the front pillars last week — 45 viewers in an hour at open viewing on day one, and a couple of dozen more on day two.

And it continues, with a surge of surveyors probably next to swamp the place that's in a covetable spot. It is set on the city route out towards Blackrock and Ballintemple, within a 10-minute trot to the city centre, and on the edge of the docklands, which has an ambitious blueprint mapped out for urban redevelopment.

But while waiting for the property market and economy to pick up enough for such a macro plan, there's more than enough amenity value to be had at Trefusis: Kennedy Park is a green area across the suburban road, the Marina beckons beyond, and the 100' long back garden is a sheltered and private retreat, complete with stand-alone conservatory, three fountains and a back-wall trickling water feature.

Hugh McPhilips of Marshs auctioneers has initially put the older style but wholly manageable period property on the market with a €425,000 price guide, but already accepts after the first round of viewing that it may now well go over that sum.

The likelihood is that intending buyers will cost the work they want to do to bring it up to contemporary residential standards, and that can run upwards of many more tens of thousands of euro (there's no central heating yet, for starters) depending on house-proud ambition and surveyors' caveats.

It's already a fine house, dated on the decor front, but the bathrooms have at least been updated in the decade, and many of the windows have been replaced.

Unfortunately for the character of the house, the replacements are those fake Georgian PVC ones with corny dividers placed within the double glazing panes.

But, not all is lost: the really fine windows, the many of them with nicely detailed leaded and stained glass work have been kept, featuring in the hall doors, landing windows and the main bathroom.

Trefusis is a spacious three-storey semi-detached home, perfect for family living. All five bedrooms have fireplaces, and most of the rooms are a good size two or three would qualify as family rooms in a hotel, and at least there's scope for sneaking in an en suite or two for those who need plumbing in their bedrooms.

There are two bedrooms on each of the upper floors, and one on the first floor return, with the main bathroom nearby which has a claw-foot, cast-iron, roll-top bath in place.

Living accommodation isn't bad either. The sitting room to the front has windows on two sides, with a painted slate fireplace with gas fire, the dining room behind has a nicer marble fireplace and looks over the back gardens, now a bit overgrown but with good mature planting to work with.

There's also a kitchen, functional but unlovely, and a back kitchen/utility, guest bathroom with shower, and a study by the main hallway, just inside the attractive hall doors with stained glass panels and a brass footplate.

There's parking off-street and a garage which could give independent access to the gardens behind, one of the property's best features.