Gurteen House a blend of different periods

THERE are two houses in the one property at Gurteen House, a couple of miles out of Bandon in Co Cork.

Describing it as semi-detached (which it technically is) doesn’t at all do justice to the character of the place, especially as the two houses are of different periods and design.

The original dwelling is a Georgian farmhouse, and added on to the side right hand side in the 1850s is a second, more Victorian styled house, with untouched period features.

The family vendors, who have been associated with Gurteen House for the last 50 years, say that an owner in the mid-1800s was a local landlord who built another home alongside for one of his daughters, and they also reckon that at one time a third house was even part of the picture here.

Unusually, while the older house has continued on in family use and been invested in, the later Victorian house has stood unlived in since the 1950s.

Although it needs total refurbishment, it sensibly was re-roofed six years ago to keep it weatherproof, and architectural features inside include marble and sandstone fireplaces, pitch pine ceiling, Tudor revival staircase and bay windows.

At present there is no doorway or connection between the two properties - that will be up to any new owner to tackle.

Gurteen House is on the market with Mark Kelly of Hamilton Osborne King, who seeks over €550,000 for the property which has scope for up to 10 bedrooms in all, on a site of 4.5 acres, which include a stone-built lofted coachouse with conversion potential and four loose boxes.

The property could be taken down a commercial route, developed for tourism or nursing home use, or bought as a large family home by local professionals or the growing cadre of buyers moving out from Cork city and prepared to commute c 20 miles each way to the urban grind.

The grounds include an old bridge, part of the Cork road by Gurteen, which was moved back in the 19th century, and now the bridge stands unusually as a garden feature with a difference. There’s also a stream, old orchard, woodland gardens with beech and copper beech trees, all with a five minute/two mile drive of Bandon town.