Charmer is rock solid

This terrace has the city on its doorstep, plus plenty of room and loads of character, writes Tommy Barker

For such a big house, with some prominence (albeit on a side street) it’s surprising that 20 Rockboro Road has stayed under many househunters’ radar up until now.

Terraces don’t really get any shorter than rows of just three houses, and the 1890s-built No 20 just off Cork city’s Old Blackrock Road is the right-hand side end-terrace home among three stone-faced houses within a stone’s throw of the city. Literally. Go to the end of the surprisingly long back garden, on its cliff-like rocky perch, and you could throw enough stones to stop the traffic on Cork’s south city link road as it comes to an end by the Elysian tower.

It’s been all change underfoot at Rockboro Road since its heyday: when first built back in the late 1800s (for medical/military personnel associated with the Victoria Hospital,) there was a gasworks to the east, while the Macroom and West Cork railways ran in a cutting to the back of this terrace. More recently, the gasworks is now the HQ of Bord Gais with a public park alongside, while the jostling link road has joined the south ring road up to the urban core by City Hall, and five years or so ago, the 17-storey Elysian tower hoved into view from the back and side gable windows of No 20 Rockboro Road — which still has an impassive feel to all the changes about it.

Twenty years in the current owner’s care, it came up for sale in November’s dark days and nights, and got a small mention in these pages as it hit the market. Now, with a change of seasons and lengthening evenings, it’s had a change of agent to Jarlath Boyd of Timothy Sullivan Associates (although the price is unchanged at €295,000) and the long back gardens are coming into their own again.

For anyone looking for a city home of character, it has to be worth viewing: the location couldn’t be any handier, there’s plenty of space inside and out, there’s off-street parking (a relative rarity for the general area) and the price isn’t too bad either for a 1,600 sq ft four-bed house, in stout order.

Windows and front door were recently changed to bring up comfort levels a tad, but it’s still punching in at a lowly F BER rating, with central heating in situ, plus an electric stove for extra calorific output.

But, there’s a conundrum: if you want to be really comfortable, you’d want to insulate and dry-line the stone walls, but that’s at the risk of losing a huge chunk of the quirks and character that sets No 20 apart from the humdrum. Its gable wall is exposed stone inside and out, so there’s really going to be huge heat loss, while the main living room’s front wall is painted stone, a similar heat sink. Time to don an extra jumper, perhaps?

The internal charm starts beyond the red, replacement pvc door, with the 23’ long hall keeping faith with the original polychrome tiles and glimpses to the kitchen off to the far end. A stripped pine door leads to interlinked reception rooms, split level and with a fireplace with electric stove in the front, east-facing room. Doors lead off this 28’ by almost 12’ twin-set room to the back, west-facing kitchen, plus pantry. The kitchen/dining room, quite country style, is bright, with solid timber units made by Hans Leptien, and there’s a lean-to polycarbonate glasshouse beyond as a segue into the garden delights.

The first floor is home to two double bedrooms, plus bathroom in the return, and the top floor has two attic level bedrooms, and several have a dual aspect. A clincher for anyone the slightest bit unsure about being so close to town — forsaking the ‘safety’ of suburbia - is the verdant back garden full of nooks and bamboo.

VERDICT: Stone-built No 20 has soul.