A glebe in green pastures

A beguiling 18th century glebe house in Co Meath has been completely refurbished and is for sale for €2m, writes Rose Doyle

OF ALL THE glebe houses - and there are many - in all the counties in Ireland The Glebe House on five very green acres at Kilskyre, Co Meath has to be one of the more beguiling.

Built in 1770 - and a good-sized 418sq m (4,500sq ft) - its many long sash windows look out over a formal lawn and gardens, 300- year-old beech tree, outbuildings which include a coach-house and cottage and, everywhere, the rolling backdrop of the pastures of Meath. South-facing, The Glebe House has garden, ground and first floors, five bedrooms (three en suite), four reception rooms, kitchen/breakfastroom and wine cellar with original bins.

It is for sale by private treaty for €2 million through agent Colliers Jackson-Stops.

Its history is well documented and rector-owners accounted for, from John Andrews, for whom it was built in 1770, to Pierce Butler (murdered in 1806) and many more. The rear of the house was added in 1820, at the same time as the spire to nearby Crossakiel church.

The Glebe House went from Church of Ireland ownership in the 1950s and, several owners later, was bought by vendors Richard and Diana Reynolds-Hale five years ago.

The Reynolds-Hales devoted half of their five years in the house to an all-out refurbishment in which they even replaced 20ft. high chimneys.

Builders and craftspeople involved were local and appreciated the house - and it shows.

A front reception room, long used as a kitchen but "singing out to be put back as a sittingroom" according to Diana Reynolds-Hale, has a library area to the rear with floor-to-ceiling shelving.

Here, as well as in most other rooms, the original wide floor planks are darkly polished while deeply-set 18th century windows have been re-sashed and their shutters put into working order.

Across the hall, the creamy-lemon coloured drawingroom has an original, marble fireplace and two front-facing windows. It leads to the drawingroom, which is in the rear, 1820 addition.

The colour here is a bold terracotta, in keeping with the Georgian era. It works well with the period-style fireplace and darkly polished floor.

There's a small study in this part of the house too and a dividing arch with a 3ft thick wall bearing testament to the robustness of 18th century housebuilding. The main bedroom faces east and gets the rising sun through its pair of deeply set-in windows.

The large en suite has a window too, this one overlooking ivy clad walls and rolling fields - all in the mood of the bathroom, which has a freestanding Victorian clawfoot bath.

The garden level has been completely re-worked and given new life.

A one-time warren of small rooms is now an L-shaped family room with original beams, tiled floor and stove. The large, rustic-style kitchen is to the rear on this level and has an original flagstone floor and a large, polished granite topped centre aisle.

Outhouses across the back courtyard are roofed and in good condition.

The cottage in the grounds behind these could easily be restored, as could the stables and a shed.

Navan is 15 miles away, Kells six and Dublin 42.