WEXFORD WONDER
Three-bed home with period trimmings, yours for €330k
THE Wexford town of Enniscorthy was, as every Irish schoolchild knows, one of the last places where the United Irishmen fought in the 1798 rebellion. There were clashes on the streets of the town and on the banks of the river Slaney as the rebels fought to hold the bridge against British troops. But the fiercest fighting took place on the pudding-shaped rise of Vinegar Hill, just outside the town, where the rebels had withdrawn to make a stand.
The rebels numbered about 20,000 and were armed for the most part with pikes and very poorly trained. In their midst were thousands of women and children seeking refuge from the British soldiers. At the bottom of the hill were 15,000 troops, led by General Lake who had orders to crush not just the rebels, but the spirit of the rebellion. His strategy was to surround Vinegar Hill and gradually tighten the noose on the rebels.
The rebels were vanquished, the leaders executed, and there are many contemporary accounts of the atrocities committed by the British soldiers under Lake in the aftermath.
Now, an archaeological discovery in September of this year supports these accounts. Archaeologists exploring the site of the battle discovered what they believe to be mass graves on the north side of the Hill. They believe that these graves contain the remains of approximately 1,500 women and children massacred after the battle. They also uncovered flintlock pistols and muskets, swords and musket shot, which allow them to reconstruct the various phases of the battle. The events are commemorated at the National 1798 Centre in Enniscorthy, a popular tourist draw in the bustling town.
Woodview on St John’s Road in Enniscorthy town is within a few minutes’ walk of the Centre and a half-hour from the historic site of Vinegar Hill. However, the house itself was not built until 100 years or so after 1798 and speaks to an altogether more peaceful period of Irish history.
The property is a fine red-brick detached house with the generous-sized rooms and high ceilings typical of the elegant proportions of the period.
There is decorative granite stonework on the exterior while, inside, the property retains many of its original features, including sash windows, ornate cornice work and marble fireplaces.
The hallway is carpeted with a quality handmade V’Soske Joyce carpet, now Dixon Carpets, and has decorative coving and a ceiling rose.
Off the hall are three reception rooms — a drawing room with large bay window for more formal occasions, an elegant dining room that links to the kitchen, and a spacious living room to the rear of the house.
Both the living room and the kitchen have benefited from an extension added in recent decades and are now large and light-filled spaces. French doors were added to the living room and a connecting hallway to the kitchen, while the kitchen now has enough counter-top space to please the most dedicated chef. There are also country-style fitted units painted in cream and that essential of the country kitchen, an Aga.
Leading off from one side of the kitchen are a utility room with fitted units and a shower room and WC that are fully tiled.
There is a second shower room with WC on the first floor return. On the first floor are three bedrooms, two of which are very generously sized, and one which also has a large en suite with bath.
To the rear of Woodview are two outbuildings useful for tidying away garden clutter, one of which could be repurposed as an office if needed.
The property is in good repair, say selling agents Sherry FitzGerald O’Leary Kinsella, and while it has been kept in the old style, has been updated with central heating and double-glazed windows.
A stone’s throw away from one of the town’s four secondary schools, St Mary’s CBS, Woodview would suit a family in search of a large, comfortable home with plenty of character, close to all the comings and goings of the busy country town not to mention a crucial chapter of Irish history. Words by Fran Power