WAS Newtown Lodge conceived as an elegant hideaway to conceal an illicit affair? That’s the more colourful version of how the house came about, as a grand gesture to keep a mistress happy.
Less intriguing is the possibility that it was built for the son of landed gentry, or merely as the gate lodge to a larger estate, or that it was erected following a fire at the main residence, Newtown House, whose occupants subsequently relocated there.
For fact rather than fancy, we can turn to landedestates.ie, where the family name ‘Nason’ crops up in relation to Newtown Lodge.
It was, the database says, held by a John Nason and occupied by a Henry Nason in the mid 19th century, remaining in Nason ownership until the early 20th century.
The Nason clan was expansive and married into other well-to-do families, producing plenty of offspring, among them men of the cloth, including a couple of rectors such as Reverend William Henry Nason, rector of Rathcormack. The historical record notes that in the 1870s, a number of Nason family members held estates of 500+ acres and that the head of the Newtown family, the aforementioned reverend, owned 2,679 acres in Co Cork.
The Nasons were clearly a family of means and that comes across at Newtown Lodge, a very charming Georgian property that started out as a traditional, three-storey country home but is now quite different, having gained two extra wings over the years.
Both wings are substantial: One is a two-storey add-on, in line with the main house, while the other is to the rear of the main building, at right-angles to it. Buildings of Ireland describes this section as a “cottage” and it looks just as endearing and pretty as any good cottage should.
The setting is tremendous too, gorgeous lawns ringed by a multitude of colourful shrubs, with rhododendrons just now producing tremendous blooms. Mature specimen trees are a feature too, principal among them a 100-year-old distinctive and splendid Monkey Puzzle Tree that draws all of the attention at the top of a gravel drive.
The overall impression at Newtown Lodge is of a landscape of rich growth, vibrant colour, terrific birdsong and outstanding privacy.
It was these attributes that attracted the current owners when they bought Newtown Lodge in 2002. The woman of the house grew up in Kildare and she saw similarities between her homeplace and the house and grounds in Ballinscurloge, Ballynoe.
She spotted it for sale in Irish Examiner Property and fell in love. “To this day, my feelings for it have never changed,” she says.
The amount of work the house required did not put her off. Herself and her husband had experience of renovating homes having bought and sold about half a dozen while living in the UK. When they first moved in, they essentially lived out of two big rooms (both in the “cottage” annex) and began working their way around the house. They had help from a Polish father and son.
“The house had been lived, I think it was a UK family and before, that, it had US owners, but nothing has been done for a long time.
“So we set about renovating, re-wiring, re-plumbing, re-plastering, installing new ceilings and floors in part, upgrading the attic and window replacement and refurbishment. At the same time, we kept as many of the original features as possible,” the owner says.
For the window work – which included refurbishment of the window shutters – the Polish father-and-son were a dream team. They lived at Newtown Lodge for the duration of their work – about 18 months – and this was easily facilitated as the two-storey wing has a self-contained annex/guest quarters.
This includes open plan kitchen/dining downstairs and a living space/bedroom and large double bedroom and shower room overhead. New owners might find it useful as a means to generate rental income, as the current owners have done, through both AirBnB and longer term lets.
The guest annex has its own entrance via French doors and another set of French doors, also in the two-storey wing, lead to the country cottage kitchen of the main house, where naturally, you will find a great big Aga.
There’s a utility room and a services room too and further up the corridor, a lovely, cosy family room with double doors to the south-facing patio.
A large ground floor bathroom and a guest double bedroom are also at this level and there’s a novel clay pipe wine storage rack under the stairs.
The best bedroom is on the first floor, where two rooms were made into one, so that it’s actually a suite, with dressing room, walk-in-wardrobe and a bathroom.
There are another two bedrooms under the eaves, up freshly-carpeted stairs.
Back downstairs, you cross a hallway to the back of the main house into the “cottage” annex and if you haven’t been wowed already, you will be here.
The first of two rooms is a formal dining room, double aspect, with high ceiling and period marble fireplace with ornate stove, and the second is a huge and graceful drawing room with an abundance of windows, and garden views on all sides.
Between the main house and the annex is an inviting hallway, bookended by French doors on one end which open onto steps above the main lawn and on the other end by the original, fanlighted, front door. Walking out this door will take you into a smaller, enclosed garden, with old stone feature walls and the delightful original entrance where an ancient lantern still hangs over wrought iron gates where once, guests would have disembarked from carriages.
Nowadays, there’s a separate entrance for cars, and a sweeping gravel drive.
An usual feature of the house is the outline of two windows on the front of the main building. In fact they were never windows, just a design feature, to give the house a more balanced look, at a time when there was a tax on actual windows. At any rate, the house is bright and lightfilled throughout.
The house has come a very long way in the 20 years or so since the owners bought it and it has benefited immensely from their interest in period interiors and antiques. They also love gardening, and this shines through too, in the expert landscaping around the house.
The manicured lawns extend across 1.5 acres but the overall site is c 4.5 acres, of which 3 acres are paddock, located beyond three loose stable boxes. Selling agent Michael O’Donovan of Savills says it could become a sand arena, if the next owner had an equestrian interest. There are two gorgeous stone outhouses too, currently in use as a gym and a dog house.
Mr O’Donovan, who is guiding 3,700 sq ft Newtown Lodge at €795,000, says it’s size makes it versatile and it could be a number of things from family home to niche wedding venue to perhaps a cookery school, subject to planning.
He antipciates interest from three main markets: the UK, the US and buyers relocating from Dublin.
Newtown Lodge is in the heart of the countryside, c40 minutes from Cork Airport and 20 or so minutes by car to towns such as Midleton, Fermoy, Youghal and LIsmore. The nearest shop is in Conna, a five minute drive. There is a primary school in Ballynoe and secondary schools in the towns mentioned above.
For fishing enthusiasts, the the River Blackwater and River Bride are both within about two miles of the property.
Utterly charming hideaway in a lush and tranquil landscape.