Where detail is king and luxury is a given

Rose Martin enjoys the superb surroundings of Glencoagh in west Cork.

BACK in 2002, a farm straddling two townlands, Gurrane and Lissard, at Rosscarbery, was on the market for just under a million euro.

Now, part of that holding is back on the market as a spanking, new, country house sale with a 5,000 square foot property and immaculately laid out grounds of 17 acres.

Glencoagh is the result of a lot of experience: it’s the kind of build where detail is king and luxury is a given.

An unusual design, it runs from single-storey to two-storey in an L-shaped layout that uses local stone and cedar. The orientation ensures it captures sea views from every room.

Less than three years old, this is an unusual west Cork offering in that, it’s the sort of equestrian holding more familiar to the midlands, than the drumlin country of Rosscarbery.

Built by a vendor who values privacy, the house can’t be seen from the road and drive-by viewings are out: you’d need a map to get there. Yet, this is not a remote location, it’s less than two miles east of Rosscarbery and has Clonakilty and Skibbereen within a short drive.

Good beaches are ten-a-penny locally and the countryside is the soft rolling green that brings people in their droves.

The house has an unusual style: there’s an enclosed courtyard to the front and at the back, where a wall of windows is placed to take the sea views down the valley.

Built by local craftsmen and using teak windows imported from Germany, the spec is very high and there’s a wealth of expensive detail and expansive accommodation.

Glencoagh is also immaculately finished: sliding patio doors on the south-western aspect of the house are admirable in their engineering. Regular doors include opening windows that create a lovely, half-door effect.

The main approach is at the centre of a sheltered courtyard, but there’s also a driveway to the working end of the house.

This leads through a range of rooms to the kitchen, a ballroom with about 650 square feet of space, the equivalent of a standard apartment.

Units in limed maple were hand-built by Whites of Clonakilty, (Premier Construction were the overall project builders) and include solid granite worktops with a red gas and electric Aga taking pride of place in the middle run of units.

A huge island projects into the dining end, which comes with a big fireplace. In fact, the dining suite that’s in situ is dwarfed by the space — a 12-piece table and chairs would fit easily and add to the baronial effect of this bright room.

The single storey wing fans out behind and provides space for a guest bathroom, utility, boiler house, office and garage — all with top-quality fittings.

Next to the kitchen is the formal dining room, a sunny space with stone fireplace, which in turn links to the bar/ living room and also to a central corridor.

The space in this house is almost under furnished for the dimensions it offers. Full-time family living would do justice to its range of reception rooms and big, en suite bedrooms.

The main living room is situated on the western end of the house and again, comes with those fantastic sliding doors overlooking a patio, rear paddocks and the sea.

Like all of the ground floor rooms, it’s finished in high-quality ash flooring, with zoned, underfloor heating.

Lamps are lit from the main switch, with a memory dimmer and there’s a big, box bay window overlooking the front courtyard. There’s full planning here for a six-stable block and the bases are in place, but an amendment might be possible to convert these to apartments or extra accommodation.

The staircase is set into a cedar gable, a projection on the main facade of the house, which adds a contemporary touch.

Fitted in oak, it climbs to a minstrel’s gallery running the length of the upper floor.

The master suite is set at the eastern end of the corridor and, apart from a large bedroom, bathroom and dressing room, includes the attic space of the ancillary buildings below: this area is perfect as a gym, or yoga space, or just a quiet hideaway.

All four bedrooms are en suite and again, finished to a very high level, with sea and countryside views from every room.

And then, there’s the outside. Facing the house are two famine cottages set in what would have been the haggard of the original farm.

They’re a lyrical reminder of how far we’ve come in economic and psychological terms — the stable block is luxurious in comparison to these old stone dwellings.

And out of decay comes life — the interior of one house has been used as a vegetable garden — the fallen stone walls and roofless space providing a perfect micro-climate for growing.

On the eastern side stands the machinery shed and stable block. The stables have hot and cold water, deep matting and are run on their own bio-cycle unit: the run of units finishes with a spacious tack room.

The house is approached from the western side and has a long, newly planted driveway from the road, and access is via electronic gates.

The grounds are all paddock-fenced and at the top of the drive, before the turn to the house, is a newly-planted orchard.

Glencoagh is a completely finished property — a headache-free buy with a huge privacy belt in a superb location.

It’s on the market with John Hodnett and Fiona Hourihan of SWS Property Services for offers in the region of €1.8 million.