Although it is just 10 miles from Dublin, Glenasmole Lodge seems light years away from the bustle of the city. At 1,000 ft above sea level, the Georgian shooting lodge is reached by narrow roads which wind through increasingly wild and rocky terrain reminiscent of the west of Ireland.
The 5,500 sq ft lodge was built in 1792 by George Grierson, whose family were the king's printers in Ireland. In a style typical of the period, the house is an angular affair, embellished with high gables and tall chimneys. It commands an exhilarating view, across slopes clad in bracken and gorse, of the glassy surface of the Glenasmole reservoir nestling in a crevice of the Dublin mountains.
The five-bedroom family home has 34 acres of gardens, woodland and pasture, and a further 173 acres of moorland, subject to turbary and grazing rights. The property is for sale by public tender through Sherry FitzGerald, which is seeking a figure of around £3 million.
Glenasmole Lodge's drive passes through grassy paddocks and plunges under a canopy of Scots pine and shocking pink rhododendrons. Boulders are softly upholstered in rich-green moss, while hoary lichen (an indicator of pollution-free air) clings to the branches of trees. The formal gardens by the house are utterly beautiful. Perfect lawns, rare shrubs and trees, and herbaceous plants are combined with a truly artistic plantsmanship. Acres of woodland, traversed by an enchanting network of meandering paths, surrounds the house, farm buildings and gardens.
When the present owners, the Judds, bought the lodge in 1964, it needed extensive refurbishment. Items were rescued from Dublin houses - being torn apart enthusiastically at the time - and employed in the renovations. Accordingly, Glenasmole Lodge now has several very fine mantels, architraves and doors, and embodies a charming mixum-gatherum of Georgian, Victorian and Gothic styles.
On the ground floor there are three reception rooms along the west-facing front, and a kitchen at the rear. The stately, bow-ended dining room is liberally trimmed with gesso-embossed, pine woodwork and has a modern conservatory adjoining. Next door, the family room is a marvellous set-piece of late-1960s Irish design. There are wall-coverings of beige tweed, a chrome-bordered fireplace, a dark brown furry carpet and plate-glass sliding doors leading to a covered verandah.
In a separate wing, the 32 ft long, Wedgewood-blue library is classical, with free-standing pillars and walls ornamented with creamy pilasters and panels. Windows facing east and west are at either end of the room. On the ground floor return, the drawing room is a spacious, almost-square room with two bay windows and a splendid marble mantel salvaged from a house in Harcourt Street. Also on this level is a pleasant study.
There are five bedrooms on the first floor, each with an en suite bathroom or shower room. The main bedroom - which has a large dressing room - is above the dining room, and is an elegant, bow-ended, dual-aspect room with windows to the east and west.
The property includes farm buildings with a bell that tolls at noon and 6p.m., a tennis court and a swimming pool. Glenasmole Lodge is a gorgeous house in a spectacular setting and will attract a buyer who wants to live in the wilds of the county within easy distance of the city.
