A taste of earthy grandeur

Rose Martin is impressed by a stylish old farmhouse in West Cork

SET on the edge of a smuggler's cove, Roaring Water House, between Ballydehob and Skibbereen, is thought to date back to the late 1700s, but has recently been given a 21st century makeover.

Now on the market with Martin Swanton of Ballydehob, the property carries a guide price of €1.3 million, which will hardly raise an eyebrow in a locality where monopoly money is paid for pre-famine holdings.

Big bucks and the whiff of celebrity are pretty pedestrian in West Cork locals are too busy saving hay to be bothered with the famous person fuming behind the New Holland. And this is the very appeal of place the insouciance of the neighbours is the reason why so many 'celebs' take to the region and why prices have been artificially high for the last 20 years or so, long before the property boom.

Roaring Water House is a fairly long title for what would have been a high-end farmhouse in its day. The UK purchaser, and now vendor, of the property spent a considerable amount of time and money in redrawing this old house and it comes to the market in pristine, almost new, condition.

The grounds of just over an acre are bounded by the Roaring Water River (a bit of a misnomer for a mid-summer trickle), and the estuary on the southern side. Surrounded by old quay walls, these are the last remnant of a grain mill built by James O'Sullivan, as part of his estate between 1778 and 1808. The landowner and merchant was also said to have been a part-time smuggler.

Being quite close to the road, Roaring Water House is approached at its gable end and has its front door facing south.

A large, lofted outhouse flanks the property to the rear and has a garage entrance from the roadside.

The simple Georgian doorcase has an old sandstone frame and limestone tiles are laid on the entrance hallway.

There's an abundance of ornate plasterwork in all of the ground floor rooms, but most particularly in the formal drawing room. This part of the house combines an old outhouse, absorbed as part of the renovations which makes this a large, split-level room. The bay window overlooks the water and is fitted with replacement windows, which however, are casement and not sash windows, as might be expected.

The roof, by contrast, is in new slate and, internally, antique mahogany doors have replaced the originals. Underfloor heating has been installed at ground floor level and the unseen work includes new wiring, plumbing, joists and damp proofing. Modern touches includes smoke detectors, as well as phone and satellite TV points in all rooms. The house has a simple layout: the formal living room is to the left of the entrance hallway with the kitchen and dining room to the right. The utility room, with access to the back yard, is behind the drawing room and it comes with a WC and shower room. Across the yard is a converted, lofted outhouse which could be used for any purpose and comes fully wired and plastered.

Then, on the upper floor of the main house are three double bedrooms, including a master with ensuite and a huge bathroom.

Roaring Water House stands on an acre of lovely old grounds and even though its provenance was not haughty, it's now done up in the grand manner and will make an attractive buy for million euro, holiday home purchasers.