Templenoe House, near Fermoy, Co Cork, is the latest Georgian mansion along the banks of the Blackwater river to come on the market. Agent Michael H Daniels is seeking £1.2 million for the house which stands on 19 acres of gardens and parkland. Adjoining estates include Cregg Castle House, currently for sale at £1.5 million, and Castlehyde House, which was recently bought by dancer Michael Flatley. Located four miles from Fermoy and 26 miles from Cork city, Templenoe House will have an international appeal but may be sold to an Irish family who wishes to move to the country.
It is a well proportioned two-storey house dating from 1761, though it was extended in the 19th century to provide additional accommodation. The Nagle and Ballyhoura Mountains serve as an ideal backdrop to the house, which enjoys good privacy and seclusion at the end of a sweeping driveway past mature oak, beech and poplar woodlands.
There is around 500 yards of single bank fishing on the Blackwater, one of the country's most notable salmon rivers.
Templenoe is being sold by a retired couple who have lived there since 1975. With their children and grandchildren now grown up, they hope to find a smaller home nearby or in Co Waterford. The house is particularly spacious with three reception rooms and seven bedrooms. The double doors of the entrance porch lead to an attractive entrance hall.
The drawingroom measures 20ft by 17ft and has a fine open fireplace with elegant fenders. The room has a dual aspect, with one of the windows overlooking the expansive parkland and rhododendrons to the south-west. Another window is focused on the sunken garden, complete with a central water feature and a charming gazebo.
The diningroom to the right of the entrance hall also has a working marble fireplace and a bay window with seats, sharing the view to the front of the house of the sunken garden and herbaceous borders.
Although the original sash windows are reinforced with plate glass sheets, some changes may be needed to ensure optimum insulation throughout the house.
The kitchen is cosy, with an oil-fired Aga cooker, good storage space, an adjacent utility room with double Belfast sinks, wine cellar and pantry. This room leads to the study, an informal sittingroom or library with open fireplace and a useful back stairs.
Upstairs, there are seven bedrooms of varying sizes, many with attractive ornamental cast-iron fireplaces. The main bedroom is the only one with an en suite bathroom, although there is a second bathroom on the main landing. A third bathroom is located near two of the smaller bedrooms.
The next owners will probably want to modernise the kitchen and ancillary rooms and may even consider renovating the upstairs area to create fewer but larger bedrooms with en suite facilities.
