A Co Kildare ornamental farm, faithfully restored to its 18th century grandeur, is to be offered for sale on the international market with a guide price of £1.9 million (2.41m).
The 63-acre Larchill Arcadian Garden, near Kilcock, includes a spacious period home and income-producing tourist attractions such as an adventure area for children and an unusual farmyard with the largest collection of rare breeds of farm animals in Ireland.
John Hamilton of Jackson-Stops describes Larchill as the only surviving ferme ornΘe of its type in Europe. For that reason it has attracted the attention of several leading international magazines and a number of TV stations.
Essentially, Larchill is famous for its 10 follies which, like the rest of the farm, have been lovingly restored since Michael and Louisa de las Casas bought it seven years ago. Michael is a cousin of the Hon Desmond Guinness and grandson of Aileen Plunkett of Luttrellstown.
The style of many of the follies suggest that they were built in the early part of the 18th century. The land was owned at that stage by the Prentice family, Dublin-based drapers, who lived in the adjoining demesne of Phepotstown.
The taste for follies and garden buildings was developed in the 1720s in England and though it was quickly taken up in Ireland, landlords here tended to opt for more modest adornments. Larchill got its share of them and today, the long, low, two-storeyed house once more looks across a field to a lake where most of the follies stand.
Previous owners got a grant to fill in the lake, the de las Casas got one to reinstate it. They also got financial help to restore the follies and a handsome walled garden which had become dilapidated and overgrown over the years. Only when all the work had been completed did they realise how extensive a scheme had survived.
A figure of Nimrod, dating from 1720, which originally stood on the lake, has been moved to a water feature in the walled garden.
The centre-piece of the lake is still an island fort with circular gun-loops, all carefully restored. A meandering path runs from the garden through mature woodlands to the lake where long-haired Dexter cattle from the Scottish highlands stand guard just as they did almost 300 years ago.
The most notable of the follies is the Fox's Earth, a domed and pillared mound which might be confused with an ice house. According to legend, Samuel Watson, a foxhunting squire, feared that in another life he would be punished by being reincarnated as a fox. The Fox's Earth was built as a refuge to keep hounds out yet to allow foxes to escape through small passages on either side.
Last year Larchill attracted 14,000 visitors (the numbers were considerably down this year because of the foot-and-mouth scare) who were intrigued not only by the follies but the huge range of exotic farm animals. The rare breeds of pigs and goats are held in new buildings which fit in with the original Gothic-style farmyard. Michael and Louisa de las Casas also operate tea-rooms and a small garden centre to bring in additional revenue.
Their home is both spacious and comfortable, yet has been changed little over the years to ensure that its calm atmosphere and sense of history are not interfered with. It has a lovely old drawingroom and diningroom and a kitchen kept cosy with an Aga.
There is a whole range of rooms off the kitchen such as a pantry, larder, cloakroom, boot room and wood store. Upstairs there are six bedrooms, including a terrific main bedroom suite with dressingroom and bathroom. There is also a second suite which could be used as a granny flat or staff headquarters.
The cut-stone yard behind the house has a two-bedroom flat and there is obvious potential to convert more of the space into living accommodation.
The gate lodge, a listed building, was recently re-roofed and there is outline planning permission to incorporate it into a three-bedroom tower folly to be built alongside it. Because of its historical significance, Larchill qualifies for tax breaks under Section 19 of the Finance Act.
