St Lukes, Cork city €365,000 Size: 110 sq m (1184 sq ft) Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 BER: E1
TUCKED snugly up a cul-de-sac, on a height, facing west over the Lee Valley, is No 7 The Crescent, a bricks-and-mortar version of a sprightly centenarian.
Like lots of the terraces dotted around St Lukes, it dates back to the early 1900s, when the city was creeping up along its south-facing hillsides and spreading its tentacles out along the tree-lined ridges of Montenotte and Tivoli.
No 7 “part of an attractive group” as Buildings of Ireland advises, is the middle house in a disrupted row of 14 bay-windowed Edwardian homes, where the three most central houses – Nos 6, 7 and 8 – form their own little terrace-within-a-terrace, separated from the properties on either side by pedestrian passageways that lead to their rear access points.
No 7 has changed hands a couple of times in the past decade or so, but prior to that, it was in the same family for more than four decades. It’s possible it was built for the military, as was the case for many of the terraces in the St Lukes/Military Hill area, to cater for personnel in nearby Collins Barracks, formerly Victoria Barracks.
It’s been well-cared for over the years. While successive owners carried out subtle upgrades, the best of its original period features were retained such as the encaustic tile hallway, the picture rails, the sash windows (now draught-proofed), an ornate arch at the bottom of the staircase and a striking, original, open fireplace in the main bay-windowed reception room, where even the original tiled hearth remains.
To the rear of this reception room, which overlooks the front garden, is a dining room, overlooking an enclosed rear yard, and off it, a galley kitchen.
A utility at the end of the hallway takes care of the washing machine and leads onto a shower room. There is storage under the stairs.
Overhead are two double bedrooms and one single – all with original timber flooring – and the main bathroom is at the return of the stairs.
Outside, the garden has some lovely redbrick features and wrought iron railings.
Parking is tight, but this close to the city, a car is not a necessity. It might be just the ticket for one of the many new employees heading towards shiny new offices in the North Docklands, who would like nothing better than a short downhill cycle to work.
Gillian McDonnell of Sherry FitzGerald is the selling agent and she says No 7 “combines quality, character and location”, in a manner not always associated with newer homes in more outlying suburbs.
It featured previously in the Irish Examiner’s Property in 2011, when our writer described The Crescent as “a lovely mix of well tended houses/clipped gardens”…”in a surprisingly green and hidden enclave”.
She suggested at the time that it was “the kind of place that young couples, of any gender, will love”.
There’s plenty of energy around the place, with St Lukes Cross a two minute walk away, where its live music venue (Live at St Lukes, IMRO Munster Live Music Venue of the Year 2018) is shaking off its Covid-enforced stagnation – there are gigs lined up for The Jazz this weekend – and where plenty of pandemic creativity has allowed the iconic Henchy’s bar and adjoining tapas restaurant to continue to trade. There’s also a terrific artisan shop (O’Keeffe’s) and a de
