House of the week

Grey Court House is going to have an appeal for buyers looking for a period house, country living, horses, pets and gardening.

NOT quite a completed project, but the end is in sight — that’s Grey Court House on 15 acre of accessible East Cork land. Set near where the Amgen pharma plant was due to fund a local land and gold rush a few years ago, this is a bit of old country grace, between Midleton and Carrigtwohill, a 20 minute spin from Cork City.

There’s a lot on offer here for those hankering for a horse or two and a heft of country lifestyle, from prime land and woods, to attractive old stone outbuildings, as well as a log cabin, all up a short, private approach avenue from the N25.

It’s had lots of work done to it, but is as yet unfinished , so there’s opportunities still for that ‘personal stamp’, says agent Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald in the city, acting jointly and casting a wide sales net with her country franchise firm counterpart Michael Pigott of Sherry FitzGerald O’Donovan in Midleton.

They quote a guide of €550,000 for Grey Court House at Mile Bush, on its rectangular plot of 15 acres of what they say is very good land indeed.

The period, over-basement 4,600 sq ft house with annex and courtyard is towards the front of the land, with a rise of woods to the north, and beyond, past the back boundary a few fields away is the Cork-Midleton rail line.

Around a century or more old, and quite parochial or glebe house in its square appearance, there’s a basic floor-plan of four rooms per floor, many with double aspect, and many original features have been kept.

So, there’s windows in the basement, with its two small and four larger room and with central stair access, and sash windows in place on the next two floors up, with four panes per window upstairs, two downstairs. There’s a front and rear hall in the central portion beyond the porch with arched windows, and all four main reception rooms plus the rear kitchen/breakfast room have high ceilings, coved plaster work in the ceilings and shutters, and there are wood floors, and nicely worn stone steps to the entry porch.

Upstairs, three of the four main bedrooms have windows on two sides, the main bathroom’s over the front porch and there’s provision for a master bed en suite. Most families won’t need any more room than is already here on the main two living levels, so those watching a budget to a fully finished home could leave the basement rooms alone.

According to Sherry FitzGerald, Grey Court House is now at a level where new owners could pretty much move while overseeing the rest of the work, and there’s immediate occupancy.

For those with the funds immediately to hand, and an appetite for work. there’s also scope to spend and develop the property further in all of the outbuildings, with good stone work and slate roofs as reasonable starting points.

As a summer 2013 offer, Grey Court House is going to have an appeal for anyone into old house and country living, horses and pets and gardening, but who don’t want a remote location. Market town Midleton’s only a few miles away, after all, with commuter rail links to Cork City, and there’s major harbour and Little Island employment bases as well which may well generate this house’s next owner.

LOCATION: Midleton, Cork

PRICE: €550,000

SIZE: Sq m 435 (4,675 sq ft)

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

BER RATING: F

BEST FEATURE: Easily finish

VERDICT: As the saying goes, “all the ‘heavy lifting’ has been done here,” and horse-friendly Grey Court House is on the final furlong home.