CO WEXFORD: €345,000:A privately-owned lighthouse overlooking a bay comes with rent paid by the Port of Waterford
AS DRAMATIC, windswept settings go, it would be hard to trump the Duncannon north lighthouse, set high on a hill overlooking Waterford Harbour, believed to be one of the only privately-owned lighthouses in Ireland that’s still in operation.
As you approach it from the road, the lighthouse, located about 20 kms from New Ross, Co Wexford, is an amazing spectacle, perched in what is effectively the garden of a dazzling white house surrounded by granite walls.
New Ross agency P N O’Gorman is quoting an AMV of €350,000 for the property, which is next to the grounds of Dunbrody Country House Hotel. It is going under the hammer on June 17th.
It was the sheer romance of the place that captivated Londoner Stephen Rothholz 20 years ago when a friend faxed him a newspaper article about how the Commissioners of Irish Lights were selling the property.
When he arrived in Ireland the estate agent gave him the keys to look around and he loved it so much he went straight to Dublin and bought it at auction for £100,000 without consulting a solicitor or a surveyor .
Since then he and his wife Liz have been escaping there up to six times a year, but have now decided to sell because they want to travel.
Because the lighthouse, a protected structure, was brought back into use some years ago, as a backup to another lighthouse in Duncannon village, the Rothholz’s have been receiving a rent of €2,500 per annum .
Stephen says the people from the the Port of Waterford Company come once a year to replace the bulbs on the projector “and put some Windolene on the windows”.
There are two flights of stone steps from the house down to the lighthouse and the front terraces, which are paved with thick York flagstones.
Built in 1834 , the lighthouse previously stood at Cork Harbour but was dismantled, shipped to Duncannon and brought by horse and cart to the hill and re-assembed.
The house is as quirky and interesting as you would expect, but a new owner would probably want to update. While the rooms are cosy and characterful, painted in soothing dark greens and mellow yellows and filled with crochet throws, old battered dressers and nautical-themed art, there is paint peeling off some of the walls and exposed pipes from the heating system in some of the rooms.
There are two livingrooms, both with little sash windows and lovely green panelled fireplaces that a friend who was staying with them made some years ago. The same industrious guest made the presses in the kitchen, which give that room a rustic, cottagey feel.
Off a snug livingroom with views across to Crook Head and Duncannon village, there’s a study with a magical outlook onto the bay, and a wall of powder blue storage presses. Beyond that there’s a big enough bathroom with a bath and a shower.
There’s also a downstairs bedroom with sash windows and original shutters. The are two double bedrooms up a wooden staircase which have very low ceilings, but, according to the owner, it would be possible to raise them substantially.
Beside the house there’s a sloping garden fringed with daffodils and bluebells and a garden bench with a great vantage point for sea views. While this is an intriguing space for adults, there’s currently no wall at the bottom to stop little ones from falling over the edge.
In the evening, the sun moves down to the big terraces which have great potential given the views of the harbour and surrounding countryside, although to get to them, you have to negotiate two flights of stone steps from the house. There are a number of interesting outhouses, including a big one with a very high ceiling that currently houses an oil tank. There’s also a potting shed and another smaller storage shed. At the rear, there’s a stone patio.
Duncannon north lighthouse, Co Wexford
Lighthouse with sea views all around
Agent:PN O'Gorman
