Cork cracker
A restored mansion on 155ac in north Cork is on the market for €2.45m, reports Jim O’Brien
BALLYGRIGGAN House on 155ac is a fine, modernised country house and farm set in the rolling land of north county Cork. The property was refurbished, renovated and extended over the last 15 years by its current owners and is for sale by private treaty with a guide price of €2.45m
The house and lands are located some 5km from the village of Castletownroche, which is just over 15km from both Fermoy and Mallow on the N72.
Approached by a tree-lined avenue, Ballygriggan House is situated on an elevated site, with fine views over the surrounding countryside. The two-storey, 8,200 sq ft house has a six-bay front with an offset entrance porch and a six-bay side elevation with a recessed centre.
The renovation and refurbishments undertaken by the present owners included an extension that doubled the floor area and saw the house rewired, re-plumbed and fitted with a new heating and hot water system.
The accommodation is spacious and elegant and includes a reception hall, four reception rooms, seven bedrooms (six of which have ensuite facilities) and a family bathroom.
The kitchen/breakfast room has been fully renovated and modernised and includes timberber fitted units in a range of base and eye-level units with beech work surfaces and an Aga cooker. Other rooms include a utility, a study, a downstairs WC and shower room and a rear hall. The renovations were undertaken with great sensitivity and many of the original features, such as ornate plasterwork and fireplaces, have been maintained and enhanced.
The property covers the whole townland of Ballygriggan and is bounded on its eastern and northern boundaries by the River Awbeg.
In 2004 the restoration of a second dwelling, the North Lodge set in the fields to the north of the house, was completed.
The main house is well placed to the centre of its lands. The main avenue leads to the forecourt and a carriage circle, while a secondary drive runs parallel and gives access to stable and house yards.
The house is surrounded on three sides by gardens made up of lawns with lovely stands of trees, a walled garden with sandstone flagged sun terrace, a water feature and shrubs.
To the rear of the house is a gravel yard and a double garage with electric roller doors and concrete floor. Adjoining the garage are traditional stone outbuildings with slate roofs that provide further storage and workshop space.
A short distance away is the stable yard with eight loose boxes, a tack room and kitchen with a further two boxes close by. An all-weather arena is located close to the hay barn.
Located away from the house and accessed by the internal road is a modern yard that comprises of two separate modern steel portal-frame buildings, including a hay barn measuring 100ft x 50ft and a livestock barn measuring 60ft x 50ft.
Robert Ganly, of selling agents Ganly Walters, says the lands are, in the main, made up of good quality grazing ground with some summer grazing along the river margins. Some sections of woodland are located along the steepest gradient where the land rolls down to the river. This portion is a designated Special Area of Conservation.
The 155ac are well laid out in 15 main divisions located around the house. There is substantial road frontage to the western boundary, while the River Awbeg forms the boundary to the eastern and northern perimeter. Parts of the land have post-and-rail fencing, while a section is also enclosed by deer fencing.
In a sale handled by Ganly Walters and Michael H Daniels of Fermoy, the property can be bought as an entire or in lots.