A cut-stone house dating from the middle of the 19th century has come on the market in the middle of Kildare hunt country. The Mill House in Ballyshannon, Kilcullen, is for sale along with 15 acres for £950,000-plus. The property also has a cottage on five acres for £150,000-plus, and eight acres for £100,000-plus. The entire property is guiding £1.2 million and is due to be auctioned by Paddy Jordan on July 20th.
The main house, which has five bedrooms, is well-presented and has recently been refurbished with a new kitchen area and a hardwood conservatory. The house has southerly views and fine gardens and it is bounded on one side by the River Griese.
It is just over four miles from Kilcullen and located close to the Athy road. It is approached along a short, private avenue through automatic gates.
The entrance hall features a beechwood floor with a drinks cupboard and under-stairs storage. The diningroom is off to the right and is painted in green, a colour that runs throughout the downstairs accommodation. It has windows on two sides and a fitted hatch into a scullery.
To the other side of the hall is a study, again with beechwood flooring and a cast-iron fireplace.
The drawingroom has a cast-iron fireplace with French doors into a garden room, a cross between a conservatory and a sunroom with the roof partly glazed.
This is at least as big as the drawingroom and overlooks the garden and paddocks. The kitchen is a bright and spacious room dominated by an Aga and backed by hand-painted tiles. Also here is a range of fitted units, as well as an ashwood island unit on the pitch pine floor.
A glazed half-door is a particularly attractive feature of the kitchen and this leads out through a porch and on to the patio.
Next to the kitchen is a fully shelved larder and there is a scullery, which was the original kitchen. This is a good-sized room with pine cupboards and it is fully-plumbed.
A cloakroom with a lavatory and wash-hand basin is also at this level.
Five bedrooms are upstairs, two of which are en suite. The main bedroom is particularly large with three windows and an en suite.
All of the other bedrooms are doubles, with the other en suite featuring a cast-iron bath. The rooms are well-decorated and would lend themselves to guesthouse accommodation. Also at this level is a shower room and a walk-in hot-press.
Outside is a stone patio with a small pond and fountain and sweeping views southward over the lawns and paddocks. Herbaceous borders are well-planted and a rabbit-proof kitchen garden has a greenhouse and fruit cage. Nearby is a tarmac tennis court and a wildlife pond with an island and footbridge in the home paddock.
A short distance from the house is a cut-stone yard with six loose boxes, partly lofted, as well as a large hay shed and a tack feed house and barn. There is obvious scope for conversion.
The lands are in permanent pasture, laid out in paddocks with extensive road frontage.
The cottage/gate lodge is at the entrance to the property and has a sittingroom, bathroom, kitchen and two bedrooms on five acres, which includes gardens and outbuildings.
The house is within commuting distance of Dublin. Three hunts are nearby, and it is close to the Curragh, which means it could well appeal to a family seeking a country lifestyle.
