Clohamon House, Clohamon, Co. Wexford, Y21HF24

A charming bow-fronted Georgian country home dating to 1780 and enjoying a serenely picturesque river valley position with bucolic views extending to the Blackstairs Mountains and a stretch of fishing on the meandering river Slaney below. Dublin city centre some 75 miles [121 km] driving distance. Enjoying an elevated position within some 23 acres [9h hectares] Clohamon House is utterly private and represents a rural idyll. A gravelled drive sweeps to a forecourt in front of the house or diverts to the courtyard behind the house. Extremely picturesque the courtyard has an extensive range of single storey and lofted exposed stone outbuildings, which links to the house, the walled garden and through an attractive archway to the outer farmstead, which has a large barn with stables (4), a guest cottage, machinery store and hay barn. An old belfry, although missing its bell, is impressive. The gardens include suitable formality with topiary box hedging and a thought-out layout but largely display an informality that links seamlessly with the valley surrounds. Mature specimen trees and shrubs have been nicely augmented by more recent plantings. The elegant southwest facing front façade comprises a large reception hall, a dining room and drawing room. The hall has a fine carved timber staircase and leads directly to an informal family room and the country-style kitchen. Each room provides comfortable individual spaces or easily combine to create a superb entertainment suite. A study, office(s), guest WC, wine cellar and scullery complete the ground floor accommodation. Upstairs there are 2 bathrooms, 3 shower rooms and 7 bedrooms, two of the bedrooms being suites, one with a bathroom ensuite and another with a shower room. Upgrading works were carried out between 1998 and 2000. An adjacent Dairy Maid's Apartment positioned within a small courtyard behind the house extends to some 333 square feet [31 square meters] and has a living room, a bedroom and shower room. In all the house comprises some 5,921 square feet or 550 square meters of accommodation. The guest cottage, The Granary, can be accessed from the rear drive or from the house courtyard off the main drive. A glazed entrance porch leads into a large central living space which has a cathedral style ceiling and opens into a small galley kitchen and snug space, which has a solid fuel stove and double French doors to a garden terrace. Twin staircases lead to 2 bedrooms and there is a bathroom and shower room. While in need of some upgrading it has a fun layout and appears structurally sound. In all about 1,520 square feet [141 square meters] of accommodation. The present 18th-century house is thought to succeed and likely incorporate, in part or full, an earlier 17th-century long house known as Clohamon Castle. These works in circa 1780 being augmented by the addition of the stone outbuildings and walled garden in circa 1839. Displaying admirable architectural merit throughout the picturesque stone outbuildings and symmetrical front façade of the house with the curved central double height bow and well-balanced windows and glazing are particularly impressive. The design and house position deliberate to maximise the panoramic river valley vistas to the mountainous backdrop behind. This architectural merit is matched by a rich provenance with notable historic owners including Walter Sweetman, author of 'Through the Night' (1869) and 'Rowland Kyan: An Irish Sketch' (1896) and the Levinge family, including Sir Richard Levinge who was a manager in Arthur Guinness & Co. and related to the renowned cartographer Captain R.G.A. Levinge, who was involved in mapping part of the US and Canada border circa 1835. Aside from one small paddock the agricultural lands, circa 18 acres [7 Hectares], are positioned in front of the house, gently sloping, and southwest facing. Highly fertile and suitable for quality horse and livestock grazing or for tillage crops. The walled garden includes an orchard (apple and pear). A small wood completes the acreage and includes fine mature trees and walking paths. Clohamon House is 1 hour 35 minutes' drive from Dublin airport and just 1.8 miles [3 km) from Bunclody market town. The surrounding area offers many amenities, including several golf courses within a 30-minute drive, such as nearby Bunclody Golf and Fishing Club. There is a myriad of walking trails and cycling routes in the vicinity and numerous sandy beaches nearby, such as Courtown beach (a 35 minute drive).