A rambling period house in a tranquil Co Wicklow setting which has been host to many courses in spiritual healing has come on the market with a guide price of £1.5 million. The Old Rectory, in Dunganstown, is on 4.5 acres within two miles of Brittas Bay.

It is being sold by author and healer Peter Gill and his artist wife, Elizabeth, and is due to be auctioned by Boyle auctioneer David O'Connor, on June 27th.

The setting on a sloping site with commanding views over the countryside is among the house's strongest features. The grounds include an orchard, greenhouse, stable, two-bedroom cottage and an abundance of specimen trees and shrubs.

However, the property does need a great deal of work. The garden, paddocks and treelined avenue are overgrown and new owners will most likely refurbish the house entirely. Accommodation extends to 5,415 sq ft, with the oldest part dating from the 17th century. Most of the house is early 18th century, however, and retains some outstanding original decorative features, such as ceiling cornicing and a fine staircase. Stone steps lead to the entrance porch and into a spacious hallway with some simple cornicing. Off the hallway is the diningroom, with two original sash windows, a centre ceiling-rose and a fireplace with a redbrick inset.

Also off the hall is the drawingroom, again with two windows and a fine marble fireplace. Further along the hallway is the kitchen with an oil-fired Aga cooker and a range of fitted units. The south-facing window leads to a wooden veranda but access is either through the window, or from steps rising from basement level outside.

The ground floor also includes a meditation room, as well as a study, utility room and pantry, and a rear entrance hall. Concrete steps lead to the basement from the hall and on to a corridor with a lavatory and shower. Much of the basement has been hardly touched over the years and it feels cold although it has central heating. It features store rooms, a livingroom, boiler house, kitchen and a room used as a library. Some of the rooms have original shelving, doors and brickwork and there is an open range. The upstairs rooms are arranged over two levels. The first level has a good sized bedroom/studio as well as another double bedroom, with a large bathroom and a separate lavatory. This part of the house is probably the oldest.

Three large bedrooms are on the next level, all with windows commanding sweeping views and the occasional glimpse of the sea. The main bedroom also has a dressing room/study off it, as well as a private bathroom, with sash windows. Some of the windows have draught-proofing on the inside and there is oil-fired central heating throughout the house, as well as an electricity generator.

A small house lies across a lawn. It also needs complete refurbishment and has two bedrooms, as well as a small study, a kitchen and living room.

Near the cottage is an old stone stable with a slate roof, and near the house are two outside stores. Water can be drawn from a well on site and a glasshouse and garden shed are also included. The gardens are well-planted with shrubs and herbaceous borders, which all need attention, as do the paddocks. There are two entrances from the road and ample parking space. The house is within five miles of Wicklow town and is two miles from the coast.