Back to school time

SCHOOL house conversions can be hit or miss — high windows and lofty ceilings don’t often translate into comfortable dwellings and any architectural significance is often lost in translation.

But in Leap, Co Cork, the Old School House has had quite a successful conversion from pedagogy to domesticity. Along with three acres of sloping pasture and woodland, the four-bedroomed house is on the market with Caroline Maslin of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill for offers in the region of €395,000.

While in use as a school, the property also incorporated living quarters for the school mistress and is quite domestic in shape and style.

Built as early at 1827, the main hall of the building was added in the 1870s and included the standard high windows, designed so that children couldn’t see out and, therefore, be distracted.

The property, run by the Church of Ireland, continued in use as a school up to the 70s, when it was sold and the proceeds of the sale went towards a new roof for Leap church.

The present owner purchased the property some five years ago and at that stage, most of the conversion work was already in place.

To circumvent the problem of high windows, the floor was raised in the main hall of the school, now a kitchen/dining room, and overhead living accommodation was slotted into a new floor, neatly circumventing the high and draughty element of the ceiling height at the same time.

The older part of the house, to the right, has the original school room, now a living room and perfect in winter, says the vendor, while overhead was the teacher’s quarters: this is now the master bedroom, with en suite addition.

To balance the seasons, a bright and large sunroom has been added on to the kitchen/dining room end of the house and this has half-door access to a deck with fine views over Corran Lake, just across the road.

Because of the need to raise the floor level in the kitchen/dining room to save the two, south-facing lancet windows, the ceiling was raised creating a platform in one of the three bedrooms overhead. This accommodates a king-sized mattress and gives an almost regal feel to the bedroom.

The Old School House is an attractive building, set back slightly from the road, and about two miles from the village, the house has a sloping entrance porch with stained glass detail over the door. This leads onto a wide hallway, which comes with book shelves all around. To the right is the living room and to the left is the main kitchen/dining room which is 30’ by 15’ and comes with separate utility and WC.

The sunroom is off this room and measures 17’ by 10’.

A simple, painted staircase leads to the upper floor where there are three bedrooms, a spacious main bathroom and master bedroom.

The gardens extend to approximately three acres, and are private and mature. To the rear of the property is a lovely terrace, with seating, overlooking the lake and countryside.