Lord and lady of all it surveys

By Tommy Barker

Originally called Bruin Lodge, and only latterly in its long history titled Maryville, it was one of the very earliest homes built on Summerhill North.

This curving incline leads up to what is now St Luke's Cross and Montenotte, less than half a mile from St Patrick Street - an easy stroll away.

Neighbours here, of an historical bent, date Bruin Lodge/Maryville House back to the 1770s or 1780s, making it one of the truest period Georgian homes in the area.

When built, it had the choice of sites and aspect. The green hills heading up out of marshy Cork city were being selected for their salubrious outlook and bracing hillside air.

It long predates the railway station barely visible underneath, and was set on a cliff top or escarpment overlooking the harbour and the fledgling southern suburbs wending their way out towards Blackrock.

Fast forward through the 1800s, the 1900s and into the 2000s, and the Georgian villa is now surrounded by the intervening centuries of residential (and railway) development - but still keeps an oasis of calm about its quarter acre hidden site and screening gardens.

Still a family home, it is packed with original and well-kept architectural detailing.

They include side-columned double entrance doors and overhead graceful fanlight, wrought iron railings, a spectacular and pristine Gothic-style vaulted hall ceiling, working window shutters, intact doors, architraves, ornate plasterwork and ceiling roses, fine marble fireplaces, stained glass door panels with etched inserts.

Now up for sale with a rarity value, and expected to sell for well over €700,000 when viewing appeal turns into competitive bidding, it is a place that most people won't even be aware exists.

A later terrace of five houses has been built between this two-storey home (though it looks single storey, it has a full lower semi-basement level) and the pubic road on Summerhill. To get access, you have to go through an archway between two of these houses.

And, access is tight, in off the street and through double doors and a short narrow passageway, just wide enough for a car, but a gap which grows easier with practice, say the owners who have had a Landrover jeep through the gap without a scratch.

The sloping grounds, with generous enough parking and turning area and with two distinct gardens, are well kept and more private than you'd expect thanks to the mature planting all around and lofty aspect to the south.

Internally, overall condition is very good and its architectural integrity has been well respected, particularly at first floor level.

The lower or semi-basement level has been opened up from its original collection of small rooms to a smaller number of larger sized open areas with light flooding in from front to back.

Each level has at present two bedrooms, there are two bathrooms at each level and upper and lower kitchens as well. The main reception rooms, with tall connecting double doors are at the upper level and have twin south facing windows, and the best of the two kitchens is underneath.

This downstairs kitchen, a modern affair in ash wood with a striking black and white tiled floor, is bright and open, and flows on to a very large living/dining area with new hardwood floor and arched divide from front to back.

It is a house that cries out to entertain in: the lower living areas are great for casual visitors and gatherings, while the far more formal rooms above are almost black tie in nature.

The upper level is decorated with lots of boldly patterned wallpaper, as would have been the mode of the day, and different patterns go from room to room but all blend for a seamless feel, and several rooms have elaborate matching patterned drapes.

The vendors now selling up through Brendan Quinlan of Hamilton Osborne King had two generations in occupation, and to maintain a respectful privacy, the staircase was removed and will need to be reinstated by new owners.

The house appears to have always been well maintained, but a new owner will also need to pay some attention to the slate roof and lead flashing: an advantage of this might be a chance to make better use of two low-ceilinged attic rooms which at least have the benefit of a stair access.