Take the plunge in Wicklow
A swimming pool is part of the package with a striking country home on 41ac in Kilpedder, writes Jim O’Brien
IF YOU’RE looking for a dream property on a compact farm within shouting distance of the capital, then Belfield House on 41ac at Kilpedder in Wicklow could be the place.
Once the home of the Odlum milling dynasty, who kept a herd of pedigree cattle on the farm, the holding includes a period house, staff apartment, a detached two-bedroom bungalow, an outdoor swimming pool, traditional yard and lovely grazing ground.
The sale is guided by Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes at €2.85m.
Located south of the Glen of the Downs on the main Dublin to Wexford dual carriageway, the property in Kilpedder is close to Newtownmountkennedy and 6km from Greystones in an area served by Dublin Bus. The residence was built in the 1780s and is accessed by an elegant, high ceilinged hall with the dining room and living room in the curved spaces either side.
The dining room is on the left and comes complete with an Adams marble fireplace, floor-to-ceiling windows and views over the garden. Off the dining room is the country style kitchen centred around an Aga cooker.
The living room occupies the curved space across the hallway. This has lovely views over the garden.
Further along the vaulted corridor and also on the right is the drawing room with a Victorian marble fireplace, ornate plaster work and doors leading to a south-facing patio. Further along is the playroom leading to the conservatory.
At the rear is a downstairs, ensuite bedroom and a rear hall leads to a boiler room and a store room. At the left hand side of the corridor behind the dining room is the kitchen, a breakfast room and a guest WC.
Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, two of them ensuite, and the main bathroom. An attic floor is home to three spaces that could be transformed for a variety of uses. The house is currently inhabited and while it could do with some modernisation, it is structurally sound.
Out of doors, there is a swimming pool and a paddling pool adjacent to the patio area that leads to a walled garden and a disused tennis court.
There is further accommodation to the rear of the house, including a two-bedroom apart- ment in the courtyard in need of restoration and further to the rear again is a two bedroom bungalow with its own garden, which could provide rental income.
Other outbuildings include a range of stone sheds, a two column round-roofed shed and a lofted store. Equestrian facilities include two courtyard stables, two mare and foal stables and a floodlit sand arena in need of repair.
The land is made up of undulating grazing ground extending to 41ac and laid out in a number of large fields sheltered by traditional hedgerow. While currently under grass, the ground is also suitable for tillage.