Lettercollum House once a convent retreat and acclaimed restaurant

ANOTHER chapter in Lettercollum House’s life story is up, as the large Victorian building set above the West Cork village of Timoleague comes up for re-sale.

Originally a convent retreat for a religious order, in a coastal village which has one of the most atmospheric and scenically-sited old abbeys in the country, it has been secularised in recent ownerships.

It ran for many years as an acclaimed restaurant and guest house, with cookery and art courses as an adjunct back-bone business.

It sold about three years ago on six acres of land, and switched to private residential use after very considerable investment and upgrading, with comfort levels enhanced.

It now is for sale with a €2 million price guide with agents Hamilton Osborne King in Cork city who expect interest primarily from private buyers. It dates to 1875, and has an amount of period details inside and out, and use of stout materials such as pitch pine and stone and marble fireplaces, with an exterior a mix of limestone and yellow brick: some controlled planting up the wall would soften some of the austerity the building still carries on the outside.

Internally Lettercollum has basement rooms which include a home cinema room, and fine large reception rooms, with four first floor bedrooms with en suites, some with cast iron baths, and several bedrooms have fireplaces, with a remote-controlled gas fire in the master bedroom.

There’s a garden cottage, with kitchen/living room and bedroom plus bathroom, and the main house has a deep entrance hall with stone staircase off it with wrought iron rails (and a back stairs to the basement rooms which include a wine cellar, cold room, cinema, etc) a boot room, game room, utility and guest WC, and two en suite ground floor bedrooms. Main reception rooms include a sitting room, drawing room, dining room and study.

The full-domesticated kitchen has painted country-style and pelmeted units, extensive tiling, oak floor and spotlighting, has granite tops and a large island, a Belfast sink, a red oil Aga and gas and electric hob/oven back-up, plus large American fridge.

Can the walk-in fridge be far behind?