ONE OF THE country’s oldest stud farms, Brownstown Stud, beside the Curragh in Co Kildare has had its price cut to €1.35 million – a 60 per cent drop in two years. The 26.4-acre property was withdrawn from auction back in 2007 at €3.4 million and has failed to find a buyer since.
Brownstown, with its elegant four-bedroom period house and full foaling and training facilities, has horsey connections dating back to 1802 when a Captain Candrell was reported as breeding and training there.
The property has passed through a number of well known racing families since then – Knox, Myerscough, McGrath and Connolly Carew being just a few of the names associated with Brownstown. The stud has trained a number of horses for international competitions, including Yellow Earl who represented Ireland at two Olympics.
There are three entrances to the property, two of them onto the Curragh. The characterful two-storey over basement house dates back to Victorian times, though a fine carved marble fireplace in the drawingroom clearly was taken from an older house. The 560sq m (6,028sq ft) house includes three reception rooms with attractive period features. In addition, there is a four-bedroom staff bungalow and a separate stud office of around 93sq m (1,000sq ft).
The business end of the property is a traditional stone stable yard and an outer yard with 46 boxes in total, as well as an all-weather menage, schooling ring, gallops, paddocks and more.
