White House hopeful

THE White House is a fairly anodyne description of a property whose many qualities make it a dream house - especially for buyers with imagination.

Its particular package is kind of anomalous in the residential market, because it’s a rural one-off, but is architect-designed and has an extra large land belt of 2.5 acres on Woodcock Hill in Cratloe, Co Clare.

Septuagenarian owner Ronnie Gibson is an avid gardener and was almost self-sufficient in vegetable in the last 14 years he and his wife have lived here, but have cut back on the work involved in the past while and have streamlined their outdoor pursuits.

The polytunnel of 30’ by 12’ is still in situ, but the string beans, tomatoes and other vegetables he grew early and late into the season are gone.

The greenhouse and vinery, however, are still going strong and there’s a lovely gazebo amidst the bushes to relax and take in the views which wife Sheila sometimes paints.

Instead of a mass of herbaceous borders, the intrepid gardener has concentrated on low maintenance shrub beds. So much so, that the grounds require just two days work per month, he says, and with a ride-on mower, the lawn’s a doddle.

One acre of the land belt is given over to the gardens and there’s a paddock of one and half acres making it ideal for a couple of ponies - or even a few head of cattle for the really self-sufficient types.

The grounds have their own micro-climate, says Ronnie and even though he’s high enough for views of the Shannon estuary, The Devil’s Bit, the Galtees and half of Limerick, the house is set in a little valley with the prevailing winds tempered by Cratloe Woods.

Title to the house allows a share of the local bog and he’s imported peat to dig in around these acid-loving plants. Yet, despite these wonderful grounds, Mr Gibson fears his garden, despite his downsizing, may be a deterrent to the sale - the man from Stoke-on-Trent has been told that Irish people are not keen gardeners.

It’s up to Limerick buyers to rebut this charge, however, most agents will agree that the bones of a really good garden is a valuable commodity with a sale - plus, The White House has that pregnant term, ‘development potential,’ to conjure with.

Although with a price guide of E355,000 this detached house straddles the upper end of lower priced properties and the lower end of the upper range houses, it will need some further investment, according to James Fox and Daren Parish of selling agents, Hamptons.

As it stands now, this architect-designed house has three bedrooms with an optional fourth in the study and has some strong internal design features that would lend itself well to a modern re-fit.

For instance, the main living room is on the upper level and has large, full length windows and apex height ceilings with timber sheeting. This room measures 24’ by 12’ and also has a Liscannor stone fireplace with full height, stone chimney breast.

The kitchen is next door and is a long galley of 24’ by 9’ which comes fitted in oak and has access to a separate utility.

Down one level there’s a study, or fourth bedroom, on the return, which comes with a cast iron stove, and on the ground floor are three bedrooms and a bathroom.

Amenity-wise, The White House has schools and shops close by and is a short commute to Limerick city on the main Ennis road, the N18.