Don’t let Ladybrook go, hook or by crook

STAINED and painted glass, new and old, come with the neat-as-a-pin home Ladybrook House, in Castlemartyr, east Cork.

The heritage village, with some fine 19th century buildings along its streets, is on the busy route between Midleton and Youghal, with the sea to the south at Garyvoe. Ladybrook is nicely set off the main run, out the Mogeely road heading inland.

Owned by a couple from the north, David and Ciara McCleery, this 1890s house is newly up for sale in pristine and enhanced order. Ciara is from an artistic family: her mother (an art teacher) and brother have both exhibited in the Royal Ulster Academy of Art. Since moving south, she’s been moved to paint local scenes, neighbouring grazing cows, and seascapes, and has exhibited widely. As she moves from Castlemartyr, she’s prepared to leave behind a bit of her locally inspired creativity, a painted glass window she did for a door, depicting Ballycotton Island in summer glory.

On a one-third acre site, and with three bedrooms right now but also highly extendable to the back, Ladybrook House is new to market with Midleton agent Adrianna Hegarty, who guides it at €270,000 as a pre-Christmas offering.

It was renovated and extended already at ground level to the back, around 1995, and Ms Hegarty rightly describes the work done as “tasteful, giving light-filled and well proportioned accommodation of character.”

That character begins at the front door/vestibule, with a stained glass door panel and stained glass side panel screening the main living area, and with a low feature old brick wall. This 16’ by 14’ open room, with staircase, has its ceiling in white-painted wood sheeted, contrasting with the 1950s-era green joinery and green cast iron fireplace in the left gable.

The other, smaller sitting room also has a cast iron fireplace, in more traditional black, and to the back there’s a big and bright 20’ by 16’ kitchen/dining room, with bay window plus sliding door to the side patio. There’s a small free-standing island/serving unit, and as a bit of a novelty, an arched ground framed window by the dining table, looking back toward the hall in the main house section.

Kitchen units are in cherry, the floor here is maple and there’s a utility off the main kitchen space, with hand-painted units, plus guest WC with shower.

Upstairs there are three modest-sized bedrooms plus bathroom.

There’s street access with gated side entrances to the paved yard, patio and landscaped and shrubbed back gardens and lawns.