Period home has it all

Rathclare House near Kanturk, Co Cork, can be transformed into a Ballymaloe-type enterprise with the right people in charge, writes Rose Martin.

WHAT price an 18th century period property, in the sort of setting that has viewers of period dramas drooling? And, then consider a whole raft of old stone buildings, including worker’s cottages and an acre of walled gardens?

How about €695,000?

Not bad, is it, for an ivy-clad, manageable property that has splendid isolation but is still just a walk to the town of Kanturk and a quick drive to Mallow, with its mainline rail connection.

A young couple with fervour, a few bob and a back-to-earth belief could turn this house into a River Cottage or a Ballymaloe-esque enterprise with the right attitude.

Rathclare House is elegant) is perfectly situated on the main road between Cork and Limerick and is a fully functional, family home which has been occupied by the same family for over two centuries.

Originally a mid-18th century property and part of the Earls of Egmont estate, Clare Cottage was initially let to the Norcott family and later to a Martha Bullen, who occupied the house in the 1850s, according to NUI Galway’s Landed Estates Database.

A much larger house was constructed in the mid 19th century, and it incorporated the original building in the new design. It was purchased by Canon David Burdon in 1886 and, since then, Rathclare House has remained in the Burdon family.

Now downsizing, the decision has been made to sell the estate through agent Michael Daniels who is offering the five-bed, 3,500 square foot home on 18 acres at its very realistic guide.

Rathclare House has all of the attributes that are required of a period property — proper Downton Abbey, in other words — but without the price tag.

And yet the house is easily managed and not too big, there are a range of lovely reception rooms on the ground floor, an old kitchen with original layout and a range of sculleries, five light and bright bedrooms, including one which was converted to, and remains a sort of private chapel/ meditation space.

Add to that a long library extension and a casual function room/ sunroom space stretching to the back of the house and you have a multi-faceted property.

Also, there are old cottages which could be converted, along with the grand old farmyard.

The acre of walled garden is impressive and could be highly productive in the right hands and the adjoining 18 acres is enough for a small-holder to be getting on with.

The house is set behind ancient trees and has a riverside position looking onto the Awbeg with a very attractive driveway.

Set above the river, with a ha-ha, (a trompe l’eoil device that gives a level view, but hides a steep, stock-proof slope to the house) the driveway opens onto a large balustraded terrace which provides south-west views over the fields leading down to the water — and there’s 350 metres of river frontage included.

The drive circles to the inner and outer farmyards and to the land, which is laid out in four paddocks.

VERDICT: Rathclare House has all the elegance and features of a true country house, but on a human scale — buyers looking for a project with benefits, might cast an eye over the property through Michael H Daniels and Co.