£1.75m for house on 50 acres

A 150-year old mansion on a 50acre estate within an hour's drive of Dublin doesn't come on the market very often. When you add 4,500 sq ft of accommodation with many original period features, extensive stable and coachhouse accommodation, a walled garden, woodland walks and glorious views, the unique nature of Windgate House, Greystones Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow, begins to sink in. The property will be auctioned on June 14th with Douglas Newman Good guiding £1.75 million (#2.22m).

The price reflects the fact that the house and stone outhouses need extensive refurbishment. Owned by the same family for three generations over 80 years, it had a private livery stables.

While not zoned for development, the scale of the estate would lend itself to a small number of houses within the grounds, possibly in a family context. The outbuildings, particularly the picturesque upper yard, offer scope for a courtyard/business development subject to planning permission.

A long leafy drive curves up and around to the front of the house, which is double fronted, built in granite in colonial style, with deep green shutters framing the windows and a green timbered veranda surrounding the panelled hall door. Almost all the windows have sea or country views. Both the dining and drawingroom have original fireplaces, cornice work and large bay windows, and the drawingroom has French doors to an original veranda. A rear study is currently used as a kitchen/ breakfastroom. Halfway up the stairs, a magnificent arched picture window lights up the inner hall. There are five large bedrooms, and a bathroom, toilet and adjoining linen room could become a handsome bathroom.

The north wing of the house, which has been used as a separate apartment, has six further rooms including the original large kitchen. This wing, which has its own entrance, needs considerable work done to it.

Outside, a lower yard has lofted stables and tack room. The upper yard has buildings on three sides with pride of place going to a fine coachhouse, with a sloping roof and leaded windows, currently an office and stables.

The front of the house has a walled orchard, a separate vegetable garden and what was once a croquet lawn. Fields for pasture encircle the side and rear of the house, and they lead on to country walks. One of these climbs up to a private woodland of oak, beech, silver birch and laurel, with spectacular views of Wicklow to the south and Killiney and Dalkey to the north. There is rear access to the property via a lane off Windgate Road.