Cork period piece on College Road

Tommy Barker visits a very large Victorian home on UCC’s doorstep.

In recent years, a house like 1 Fernhurst, on Cork city’s College Road, would either have been chased after by investors, to let out to students, or been taken on by medics, given its proximity to the Bon Secours hospital, and used for private rooms.

Despite the arrival of so much purpose-built student accommodation around the city centre and the burgeoning UCC campus, with still-rising student numbers, there may still be investor interest in No 1’s sale, and also expanding is the Bons itself, with a multi-million euro expansion in train.

So, any aspiring private buyer of the three-storey, six bed and 3,200 sq ft Victorian build may have a tussle on their hands.

But, private purchasers are, indeed, making their way back to this most convenient area’s more genteel homes, balancing the presence of such student numbers, with the convenience of being so close to the city centre, parks, walks, and strong employers.

No 1 Fernhurst is priced at €595,000 by auctioneer Michael O’Donovan of Savills, Cork, and he says it’s in good decorative condition throughout.

It’s likely to have been rented, at least in part, for a while, judging by the number of en-suite bedrooms (four, plus a shower room, main bathroom and guest WC).

It has good living areas, a decent kitchen, and many retained original features including fireplaces, flooring, porch tiling, and stained glass. It also has tall ceilings, a kitchen with a green range cooker, pine units and a Belfast sink.

It has plenty of parking, plus a detached garage facing on to Highfield West for more parking, and a number of homes on this stretch facing UCC do, indeed, gain rental income from car parking spaces in former gardens.

VERDICT: A robust period era house with much of the original detail intact, architectural trimmings, updated and centrally heated.

College Road, Cork

• €595,000
• Size: 297 sq m (3,175 sq ft)
• Bedrooms: 6
• Bathrooms: 7
• BER: E1