Victorian city gem in St Luke’s Cross, Cork

THE unpainted render exterior of 6, Egerton Villas, off Military Hill in St Luke’s gives few clues of the light-filled period elegance that lies within this city home.

St Luke’sCross, Cork €435,000

Size: 185 sq m (2,000 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 2

BER: Exempt

A bay windowed, three storey, terraced, Victorian property, No 6 has been sympathetically restored by its current owner who has had it for 35 years, and “it’s a 2,000 sq ft family home with both substance and character,” says auctioneer Andrew Moore, adding that it’s just a 15 minute walk from the city centre and “close to the ‘village’ of St Luke’s — a great place to live”.

Along with the bay window and the high ceilings, many period features have been preserved: Mr Moore quotes a guide of €435,000 for the mid-terraced period home.

Behind the front bay window is an elegant sitting room with layered cornicing, picture rails, a black marble fireplace and varnished floorboards.

Connecting doors open into a dining room, similar but smaller with a different fireplace. At the rear there’s a kitchen which has been fitted with painted cream units and appliances and a Victorian pantry is converted into a utility area.

Fitted with two bathrooms on the first floor return, one with a shower and one with a bath, the property has three bedrooms on the first floor.

A smaller one has been turned into a study, another is currently in use as a TV room, while the largest one, (15’ by 15’), is the master bedroom with varnished timber flooring, built-in wardrobes and two large south facing windows at the front.

The second floor, which would once have been the servants’ quarters, now has two large bedrooms including one extra large one (23’by 15’) with Velux windows. Fitted with double glazed windows, gas heating and recently reroofed, No 6 Egerton is BER exempt.

One of a terrace of eight gable-fronted properties built in the 1880s for officers from the nearby army barracks, the house has a front garden with lawns and a weeping willow.

To the rear No 6 has a slabbed patio and a set of steps leading up to a lawned garden, with handy off-street parking and a garage at the rear.

VERDICT: With charm, space, gardens and a good location, it’s certain to attract keen interest.