This classic in Crosshaven is on the market for €415,000
THERE’S a certain type of Crosshaven house that always engages the eye, and the hopes, of home hunters.
Among the most prized are the late Victorian and early Edwardian homes, built for then-prosperous business and professional classes... and, more or less that same 21st century demographic turns up when resales come around.
One to test the bidding mettle will be Ardnalee House, a true original, perched on a height at the entrance point to Crosshaven village, almost a sentinel.
It’s set above the popular waterside walking route back towards Carrigaline on the old railway line, near the busy Grumpy & Wise cafe/restaurant and it has the dinghy park of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, and various moorings and many yachts, in the mid- distance.
It’s likely to date to c 1900, the start of Edward Vll’s reign over the water, and is one of five carrying the Ardnalee name, which is a popular Cork moniker in any case given the city’s intimate relationship to the Lee.
Ardnalee House is built in the classic early 1900s style with projecting gables, barge board fascias, finials, and decorative plasterwork, including an ocular or round piece on a high gable, and plaster details over the square headed and round headed sash windows.
Measuring in at just under 2,400 sq ft, it is detached, on a site of c one quarter of an acre, and its four other Ardnalee neighbours have similar architectural features, but are semi-detacheds, in twin sets.
Estate agent Timothy Sullivan is in charge of the sale of Ardnalee House, which has been in family hands for decades; he guides at €415,000, which reflects the fact it now need updating, and he describes it as “elegant, and certainly distinctive, it has a presence and people all seem to recognise it”.
Added to at the sides, it has its rooms over three levels, with scope for up to six bedrooms, and the most attractive room is the L-shaped sitting/dining room, with wide bay window; it’s got sashes front and side, and another section has an arched sash window.
They all offer up water views over the Owenabue estuary, and ceilings have deep plaster coving, mouldings and decorative corbels, plus the fireplace is original to the period.
Also at ground is a TV room, old fashioned kitchen, utility with terrazzo floor, a play room/optional bedroom with en suite wet-room, and a guest WC.
There’s an elegant staircase, with curving hardwood rails, and overhead are five bedrooms, all with hand basins, and a family bathroom.
As spacious as it is inside, the grounds are a match for it, with plenty of parking to the front, there’s a double garage and boat store, and the gardens are in various sections, mature, with crazy paving and paths and one section bears the imprint of its days as a one-time tennis court.
All-engaging is the view over to the water, whether from inside or outside, and the presence of the RCYC is a feature (the sailing club celebrates 300 years of existence in 2020) and in fact the club’s secondary car park is up behind the five Ardnalee siblings.
Drop anchor at Ardnalee.
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