A touch of class by the sea

THE courtyard of Ballygeaneymore House was once graced by the daily arrival of the mistress’s Rolls pulling up to the modest sized period home, greeted, no doubt, by a butler.

But today one doesn’t need to be in the same wealth league to occupy this coastal pad.

Owned in the early 1900s by a niece of the niece of Henry Ford, mass motoring’s pioneer, the property in a glen by the sea near Ballycotton in East Cork is for sale with a €525,000 price guide with estate agent Michael H Daniels.

If the price seems modest, it might be because a converted barn in the courtyard is in separate ownership, so privacy is restricted.

The reduced privacy and the fact that some services are shared might throw off some of those house hunters, but there’s lots to recommend Ballygeaneymore.

Set in a glen near the sea a few kilometres from Ballycotton, it is a Georgian farmhouse which was added on to in the Victorian period, giving about 3,000 sq ft of space.

There’s alots of feeling of antiquity about the place, from its stone entrance pillars to its courtyard with stores and an old barn with conversion potential.

The house itself is quite old fashioned too, but it does have mains water and electricity with oil central heating.

Accommodation includes four bedrooms, two with fireplaces, two bathrooms with cast iron roll top baths, a nursery and two reception rooms, hall with cloakroom, kitchen, laundry and pantry.

Period features include an attractive half glazed door in the sitting room which opens to the gardens, good fireplaces in this room and in the dining room, original Victorian tiles in the hall and stone slabs in the kitchen.

The property runs to about an acre and three quarters of largely enclosed gardens on several levels with stone steps, and there’s an orchard with wild flower gardens. You can’t see the sea from the house, but you can glimpse it from the gardens. Ballyandreen beach is at the end of the cul de sac road, with a bracing cliff top walk back to Ballycotton.

The area, served by main towns like Midleton and Youghal, is 40 kms from Cork city and is popular for sea angling. There’s a good beach at Garryvoe, and a strong good food culture and craft network with some well-known names like the Allen family at Ballymaloe and Pearces at Shanagarry to the fore.