Challenging restoration awaits in 'Big House'

Despite sharing the generic name, The Big House, in Ireland some of these properties are much bigger than others. Running to more than 50 rooms, Woodlawn in Co Galway certainly seems to qualify for the epithet "big", although in its present condition the house might not necessarily also be considered beautiful.

Now on offer with the final 115 acres of a once much-larger estate, the main structure has not been occupied for the past 30 years and inevitably this has had unhappy consequences.

Neither the woods nor the lawns which make up the house's name remain in good condition; the former, gently sloping away to the south from the building, have now degenerated into scrub, while many of the trees have been cut down, leaving the place looking raw and exposed in its bereft setting.

The scale and former splendour of Woodlawn testify to the affluence, and confidence, of post-famine 19th century Ireland. At the time, it would have been one among many such houses in east Galway, although very few of them now remain.

Located some 12 miles from Ballinasloe, from the early 18th century onward Woodlawn was owned by a branch of the Trench family which held extensive estates not just in Galway but also in counties Offaly and Tipperary.

At the time of the Act of Union, Frederic Trench of Woodlawn, who had been an MP in the Irish Parliament, succumbed to the allure of a title and became Baron Ashtown; his descendants continued to live there until 1947.

It was the second Lord Ashtown who gave the house its present appearance when between 1855 and 1870 he chose to enlarge an existing structure.

Seemingly to the designs of a local architect called James Kempster, District Surveyor for East Galway, Woodlawn was transformed into an enormous Italianate villa, heavily dressed with cut-limestone from the area which is used for such details as the finial-laden roofline balustrade above the central block and the main entrance's Ionic portico, again finished with a balustrade.

While this part of the house rises to three stories over a basement, there are only two floors in the pair of wings added during the same period.

At the time of this overhaul, Woodlawn was given what were then considered modern advantages, such as a well beneath the house to supply fresh drinking water thanks to a hand pump and an elaborate drainage system in the gardens.

Inside the 35,000 sq ft building, six main reception rooms were installed, including a drawingroom, diningroom, ballroom and study; there were 17 principal bedrooms. The main hall has a decorated cornice and ceiling, as well as a cantilevered stone staircase with cast-iron balustrading.

Woodlawn's fortunes in the 20th century epitomise the sad decline of the Irish big house. During the 1920s, the third Lord Ashtown was declared bankrupt and, as a result, the house was closed up and its contents sold at auction; at one point, the IRA occupied one of the wings. The fourth Lord Ashtown eventually returned to Woodlawn but in 1947 he sold the estate to his cousin, Derek Le Poer Trench who, in turn, disposed of it in 1973.

Since then, Woodlawn has had two further owners but neither of these have lived in the house. The present vendor is a local publican, Michael Lally, who bought the property 12 years ago.

Before that date, in 1982, a fire burnt out the east wing and caused extensive damage to the central block, partly because of the water used to put out the flames. Much of the original decoration of the house has also been lost, not least the fireplaces in the principal reception rooms.

While all the walls still stand and the pitched slate roof remains, Woodlawn today is a mere shadow of the house it had been 100 years ago.

Michael Lally says he never had any major plans for the house but bought it in order to save the place. He also acknowledges that whoever takes on Woodlawn will need "a lot of money." However, according to Mr Lally, "with the way things have been going in the last two or three years, there were a lot of enquiries. I think there'll be a big interest."

Despite his optimism, it is difficult to imagine who might be prepared to take on the challenge of restoring this very large house. As documentation supplied by HOK Country, the agent handling this sale observes "a considerable investment will have to be made to return the estate to its former glory."

Although less than 30 miles from Galway city, Woodlawn is not in one of the more popular areas of the county. The land still attached to the house holds a gatelodge, a steward's house, stables and several cottages plus a walled garden running to four acres and an orchard; a man-made lake in the grounds is crossed by a limestone bridge.

Now that religious orders - which were once the salvation of many Irish country houses - are selling off their buildings, the most obvious future for Woodlawn is as a hotel, presumably with the ubiquitous golf course created on adjacent land.

Although such a project would require substantial funds, it seems to offer the only hope that the house's steady decline might finally be arrested.

Woodlawn House, Kilconnell, Co Galway, is being offered for sale by tender by HOK Country with a guide price in excess of £850,000 (€1.079m).