Lots to rave about Snave with this 18th century church conversion
A price drop of €50,000 on a meticulous ‘chapel of ease’ building conversion on a scenic stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way, should see a refreshed level of interest in this one-off West Cork home.
Launched last October, as winter started to close in, this postcard-pretty c 1,400 sq ft converted church on a very large site with further scope had been priced back then at €395,000.
That’s been readjusted to €345,000. Now it’s summer, the water’s warm, the days are still long and its gardens are lush, it should have a broader appeal and pick-up, expects its joint selling agents, Denis Harrington in Bantry, and Sherry FitzGerald Daly over the hills in Kenmare, who say it’s an eminent property, in an exceptional setting.
With a part exposed stone exterior, rambling roses and naturalistic-planted grounds, it’s as attractive on the approach and in its interiors as is its setting at a beauty spot called Snave, out the N71 towards Glengarriff from Bantry.
It’s directly across the road from a convenient safe slipway at Dromkeal Pier which “provides a beautiful launchpad for all manner of seafaring activity,”says Denis Harrington, adding “whether as an exclusive residence or shrewd investment the converted church is a very special part of Ballylickey.”
Given the rich flora and natural beauty it’s a spot popular with tourists and photographers, as is this robust building itself which dates to the late 1700s: Airbnb, anyone?
It was sold out of Church of Ireland ownership in 1999, converted to a private home by an art gallery owner, and has changed hands just a few times since.
While it has retained ecclesiastical features like stained glass windows, some latticed and gothic-style windows, and a lofted mezzanine with carved quatrefoils and pitch-pine beams, it’s not in any way overly ‘church-y’, it doesn’t have a spire, and has been sensitively upgraded, inside and out, with oil fired central heating and heaps of charm.
The largest room is the 27’ by 16’ main high ceilinged living/dining space with kitchen under a mezzanine third bedroom, with separate front living room that’s 23’ by 10,’ made all the more cosy with a stove in a brick insert fireplace.
There’s also a ground floor bathroom, large utility, and overhead two separate bedrooms, plus bathroom.
The property stretches well back from the N71 outside, running to 2.7 acres, has a second entrance and a lapsed planning for a second/guest cottage.
: a rare build on a gentle stretch of West Cork’s Wild Atlantic Way.
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