That would be an ecumenical matter, Ted? Inniscarra's Parochial House has served several faiths

Reborn Lee Valley home on three acres is blessed with good looks, grounds and stone coachouse and buildings

Sat, 10 Jul, 2021 - 00:05

Property Editor Tommy Barker reports

Inniscarra, Cork
€1.5 million
Size	367 sq m (3,700 sq ft)
Bedrooms	6
Bathrooms	5
BER	B3

STEEPED in Lee Valley history, with a history of ownership and service for two religious faiths, both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church as well as more recent, secular occupation, and all reborn as a superbly comfortable home, is the former Parochial House in Cork’s Inniscarra heartland.

Side view of Parochial House and its sturdy stone buildings creating a courtyard cluster and shelter

The period home, with older original Georgian rear sections and a ‘newer’ Victorian front main section, is set at Canon’s Cross, or Cannons Cross, a short haul upriver from Cork’s western suburbs by Inniscarra.

It’s up on a good, safe valley height above the Lee river, just downriver of the ESB’s Inniscarra dam and reservoir which serves the city, on three acres of tree-fringed private grounds.

Main double aspect reception opens to a dining room

Originally built as a Church of Ireland rectory, for the nearby St Senan’s Church which is part of the Carrigrohane Union of Parishes in the sprawling Blarney Estate heartlands, it later switched faiths in the 19th century from C of I rectory to Roman Catholic Parochial House, and got ‘secularised’ almost 25 years ago.

Unusually carrying a large, eight-pointed Maltese Cross on its approach gable, glimpsed through its approach gates between mature trees off the main Inniscarra Road, since its laicization it’s had two ‘improving owners,’ and as it comes for sale in 2021, it’s never been as comfortable, in as good shape, or as large and accommodating.

Kitchen extension was by architect Dominick Comerford

It has had a second, considerable round of investment in the past decade, and a more sizeable and substantial one than in its first iteration, and is larger than ever now, with up to six bedrooms, and almost 4,000 sq ft of comfort within, done in both a sympathetic and suitable manner, with creature comforts added.

Christened as the Parochial House, it’s had a total makeover in the past ten years for its current family ownership: indicative of the scale of reinvestment is the lift from a lowly E3 BER to a highly impressive B3 – but it’s really only on a relaxed visit that the comfort level this River Lee home has been raised to becomes apparent.

Parochial House has served clergy of two faiths, and now two private families also

Having done all the house work, to a very high standard, the owners are moving on, and Inniscarra’s Parochial House at Cannons Cross comes back for sale, bigger and better than ever, priced at €1.5 million by estate agent Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald who says it’s one of the most impressively upgraded family homes in the Lee Valley hinterland.

Sherry Fitz date it in the main to the 1890s, so the late Victorian period with the relatively shallow front section added about 1920, but there are sections to the back that go back further, closer to the Georgian era, and they’re the ones that were most significantly enhanced around 2010, when the current owners, the second family to do improvements here since the 1990s, bought it and added to it around 2010, both size-wise and comfort-wise.

They used the services of Dublin-based Dominick Comerford Architects (it appears on their website www.dcarchitects.ie) to reorder the home for 21st century secular living, extending to the back over two storeys, with a large, bright glazed family kitchen/living/dining rooms added, opening to a sun-trap limestone paved patio, part-sheltered by very old stone outbuildings, some of them lofted internally, and with huge charm, including a generous wide arched opening ….and maybe even further upgrade scope?

Glass link corridor, anyone?

As it comes to market, for its relocating family, it’s never been as big, as accommodating, as comfortable or as well finished, with c 3,900 sq ft within, done to a very high and respectful standard, fresh in every respect and in walk-in order, with an appeal likely to span those living in the city but yearning for more outdoor space in beautiful Lee Valley setting, as well as those looking to relocate to Cork from overseas.

Those latter viewers, in particular, won’t give a second thought to the asking price of €1.5 million and nor will many city families looking for more space, both indoor and outdoor, within a short and scenic wooded river Lee drive of Blarney, Ballincollig and the city and its western suburbs, third level colleges, and hospitals.

And, the fact all the necessary work has been done here, to a very high standard throughout, will surely carry a premium when it comes to competitive bidding on this period-rooted Inniscarra property.

Sherry FitzGerald auctioneer Sheila O’Flynn describes the result, post 2010-upgrade and extension as “a perfect example of upgrading and renovating a period property whilst retaining original features and character as well as incorporating modern luxuries and conveniences: the final result being a truly elegant home.”

She continues that “it’s evident throughout that great time, effort and money have been invested in this home, with incredible care and attention to detail being given to all aspects of the house.”

Double aspect main bedroom has a dressing room alongside

The Parochial House is now a five-bay, B3-rated gleaming period home with 21st-century comforts, with a warm and bright aspect, and a good mix of formal space and informal, family-friendly living accommodation, on good grounds, with mature trees, and the River Lee making its way form reservoir to city and sea, out of sight in the wooded valley beneath.

Despite being set by a junction linking out towards Blarney and Tower at Inniscarra, near St Senan’s C of I church, the setting is private and pastoral, heavily wooded along its boundaries with some specimen trees, and relatively easy access down a steep slope to a walkway along the Lee’s steep and wooded banks just downriver of the Inniscarra dam.

Notably, thanks to its setting high above the river valley, it stood aloof from the devastation of the floods in late 2009 when the ESB had to release very large volumes of water from its reservoir at Inniscarra, and since leaving church/parish hands has had two private owners.

The current owners bought in 2010, with the Price Register showing it transacting at €833,000, having gone to market with a €950,000 AMV (the actual sale price might have been a bit higher, as the Register only record a house’s value on one acre).

That was after upgrade works had been done by previous owners, an Irish-British couple who had bought it in the late 1990s, after a career in British Foreign Service with service overseas in Tehran, Paris, New Delhi, Bonn, Lima and Mexico city.

The 2010 buyers, now the 2021 vendors, practically started afresh, doing an even more serious makeover, moving the staircase to a more central position, and extending over two levels to the rear, adding bedrooms and creature comforts, moving it from an E3 to a B3 BER as a reflection of the scale works involved.

It’s got its more formal rooms to front of the five-bay Victorian front, both double aspect with upgraded and weighted sash windows with shutters, a mix of three-over one pattern upstairs and two-over one pane arrangements below, with a lovely mix of niched rooms and more formal ones.

There’s now a very good modern space created in the rear wing, home to a family space with a dining section, bright and high-end kitchen with a large curved island, yet homely, opening to a sun-trap stone-flagged patio/terrace.

Kitchen island, by Millcraft Furniture in Dublin

There’s a large Aga with a granite backdrop, and a curvaceous central island with mix of stone and walnut tops, with the back-up of a pantry, utility and guest WC, and glazing is a mix of double and triple, all helping get the home up to its impressive B3 BER.

The work was overseen by Stillorgan, Co Dublin-based architect Dominick Comerford, and the period-style kitchen was supplied by Millcraft Furniture, with hand-painted units, chunky doors, granite tops and splashback, with a Belfast sink.

It’s got a marble floor, similar to that in the reordered hall, with a mix of recessed and pendant lighting. There’s a wall of glazing (triple glazed) to the warm south-aspected terrace, facing an arched barn/outbuilding entrance, and is also open plan to the dining area which now has a door added to the main, front formal drawing room, and slender double doors to the sun-trap patio.

As back-up, there’s a handy and good-sized utility with marble floor, storage, back-up Belfast sink, with external access, plus there’s a ground floor guest WC, family room and a home office thanks to a 2010 reordering by the current owners which saw the original staircase moved to a more central position.

There’s a period original feel to the interior thanks to architectural detailing, décor and 10’ high ceilings, with coving and ceiling roses, with excellent fireplaces, and both the latter-day added (ie a century ago) formal double aspect front rooms now open to further rooms behind, for a lovely sense of flow and no ‘dead-ends: it all makes for more regular, day-to-day family use of pretty much all of the ground floor’s rooms.

Above, thanks to a now deep as well as wide floor plan post- its sympathetic extensions and upgrade are six bedrooms, three of them with en suites and a main family bathroom, all in smart order, whilst the master bedroom also has walk-in robes.

Selling agents Sherry FitzGerald that after the pretty extensive, yet sensitive works done over the past decade Inniscarra’s Parochial House is now “a perfect example of upgrading and renovating a period property whilst retaining original features and character as well as incorporating modern luxuries and conveniences: the final result is a truly elegant home.”

The B3 BER reflects the level of recent investment in the upgraded and extended private Lee Valley home, all in walk-in condition, and on a rare and mature three acres, within an easy strike of Blarney, Ballincollig, and Cork city’s western suburbs, tech and office parks, plus major hospitals and third-level colleges.

It’s set right at Canon’s Cross, or Cannons Cross, and the mature three acres includes reroofed stone outbuildings, some lofted, wildflower meadow and more maintained grounds in front with lawns, swathes of flower beds, gravel paths and a treehouse (having done a course in bee-keeping, the vendors bought hives and were set up to keep bees, but Covid-19, and now a jobs move, means they are relocating, so some new owner can opt to be a bee-keeper on this three-acre swathe of Lee valley greenery.

Mature trees include an array of hardwoods, such as oak, beech and ash, as well as flowering varieties such a cherry blossom, magnolia, and fruit bushes, plus wildflower abundance.

Shed your earthly possessions at the Parochial House

With nothing left to do to the home itself, next owners might opt to sensitively upgrade the stone sheds and outbuildings, already dry and with some cobble floors, or perhaps just makeover the main, lofted one for serious games uses, preserving the fine wide stone arch detailing that’s testament to the quality of this property mix’s 19th roots.

VERDICT: An absolute finer.