West Park delivers timeless appeal

After 250 years, this east Cork mansion has been restored and extended to reach new heights, writes Tommy Barker

You could imagine a musician in residence, for example, with space for recording studios. It’s also set up for great parties.

WEST Park House dates back almost 250 years — but you wouldn’t know it now.

Not only is it now far larger, it’s had a multi-million euro makeover, as well as the saving of its valuable farm buildings.

Reputedly built by Lord Midleton back in the 1770s and with early occupiers the Tunners who had military connections, this east Cork Georgian house grew over time to include a virtual Victorian wing, or a second house, linked to the Georgian original via an ancient kitchen.

It went up for sale in a very original state in 2005, guiding €1.5 million, and was bought by a Cork farmer/builder as a new family home and renovation projects.

Millions of euros were clearly spent on the personal mission, involving architects, heritage consultants and building protection officers and planners — and now, fully and emphatically done, it’s unexpectedly back up for sale.

Total investment to its finished state has been put at around €5m.

It’s more cohesive than at any time in its past too, and it now has 11,500sq ft of quality space, with seven en suite bedrooms, huge family living spaces, and is bristling with technology, but much of it is pretty much kept out of sight.

It’s only a mile or two out from Midleton towards Dungourney, and originally its lands (about 300 acres of working farm stayed with previous owners, the Murphy family) would have stretched almost back to the town and to the railway line.

Now, it’s the centrepiece of about seven acres of perfect, private, land pivoting around a spectacular 250-year-old Holly oak tree, with a woodland lake/pond, a huge collection of restored stone and slate farm buildings. plus two courtyard houses, fully converted and upgraded, one with four bedrooms (two en suites), and one with two bedrooms.

Apart from the truly top-drawer main residence, there’s a further 10,000sq ft of good out-buildings ranged around a spotless courtyard — so space really isn’t an issue.

Joint selling agents are Lawrence Sweeney and Shay Cronin of Property Partners Cronin Wall in Midleton, with Knight Frank in Dublin, and the price guide, all-in, is €2.3m.

It couldn’t all be done again to this level for anything remotely like this sort of money, effort and commitment.

New owners could come from a wide and varied background: you could imagine a musician in residence, for example, with space for recording studios, visiting band members, engineers and so on. It’s also set up for great parties.

One exceptional bedroom, in the middle of the original house, is virtually an apartment, with dressing room, bathroom, bedroom/day room and full staircase up to an attic-level playroom as well, with dormer window for Hollyoak tree views.

West Park’s new wing, over basement with its high-tech media room/home cinema and twin terrace access, blends in pretty seamlessly with the restored old, and external plaster was matched and shaded to look instantly old.

Ivies have been planted to blur the lines too, and in fact old photos show the house bearded in green Virginia creeper — now marching away happily again in portions. Reached after a wooded approach avenue past electric gates, West Park wends its way to an old stone and brick arch, 250 years old, which opens a view to the range of restored buildings behind.

Older buildings include the ruins of a private chapel and a barrel-roofed apple store for the orchard’s harvest.

The main house’s roof is done in Bangor slate, with metal gutters and rainwater goods, timber sash windows are American imports, floors are either walnut (lots and lots of it) oak or travertine, with heating underfloor, at basement, ground and first floor levels. There’s as many as seven internals staircases, and the main one is a preserved stunner, an ornate cantilevered work of craft, now back in the full of its health. Most of the 52 internal doors were hand-made especially for West Park.

There are four solar panels for water heating, and it is all set up for geothermal heating as well, plus there’s a hotel-calibre oil-fuelled boiler for heating, while insulation levels are exceptionally high. The house also has full CAT 5 cabling, speakers for music in most rooms, and satellite TV.

The knock-out family space is the kitchen/living/informal dining room, over 60’ long, and trekking into the large, cathedral-ceilinged family living room, which is 30’ deep with huge apex windows. Kitchen units are by British company Neptune, and the granite-topped kitchen island is 21’ long, while there’s a four-oven Aga, plus an integrated bank of electric ovens, drink makers and coffee machines as well.

Continuing on a size theme, the main hall is 44’ long, graced by new ceiling plaster mounding, and most of the house has ornate plasterwork now either fully restored, or recreated.

The vendors have recently moved out, so it is being shown unfurnished, but keeping pride of place is the original ‘West Park’ dining table and with seating for nine diners in a graceful, 25’ by 16’ formal dining room with a bow end and white marble fireplace.

VERDICT: West Park House has centuries more life left in it now.