Prize house has gate lodge

ROCHESTOWN Wood House and its gate lodge, the landmark ‘roundy house,’ are up for sale this week with Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing and Associates.

Owned at one stage by Sir Henry O’Shea, (whose name is now better known from a long-standing Cork nightclub), the main house was an older farmhouse to which two wings and a back extension were added around the turn of the century.

Despite still being rather modest on first viewing, this house comes with 5,000 square feet of space and has a land bank of 7.8 acres - and this in Rochestown.

Malcolm Tyrrell describes it as an unusual sale - the land is prime - but is hamstrung, (if you look on it that way), by planning constraints. Therefore, the house and grounds are being sold as a country residence and given a guide of €700,000.

The gate lodge is also up for sale as a separate lot: this and half an acre of land are on the market at €200,000.

The big question with these sales is whether or not planning permission for new dwellings would be allowed?

In the case of the gate lodge, which is in poor condition, replacing the house could pass planning, but designs would be subject to scrutiny.

Rochestown Wood House on the other hand is a different matter - while it’s not exactly ready to move into, it has, to put it very subjectively, a lovely ‘feel’.

Bright and sunny, the house has up to six bedrooms, three bathrooms and some lovely reception rooms.

Still with its Victorian style porch, limestone steps and sills, it has some fine doors and fireplaces. Views are spectacular - yet the house is not seen from the road,

With its prime site, this house should draw those who like the quieter, more rural end of the Rochestown Road.