{"id":154824,"date":"2025-10-31T07:11:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/154824\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T07:11:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:11:21","slug":"two-schoolhouse-transformations-near-blessington-are-a-masterclass-in-design-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/154824\/","title":{"rendered":"Two schoolhouse transformations near Blessington are a masterclass in design \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Address:<\/strong> The Old School Houses, Manor Kilbride, Blessington, Co Wicklow<\/p>\n

Price:<\/strong> \u20ac835,000 <\/p>\n

Agent:<\/strong> Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty<\/p>\n

View this property on MyHome.ie <\/a><\/p>\n

Timeless with a touch of magic could well describe of the latest offering <\/a>from Lisney Sotheby\u2019s International Realty at Manor Kilbride, near Blessington in Co Wicklow. <\/p>\n

Two charming cut-stone schoolhouses dating from 1862 were built by Col Lorenzo Moore of the Battle Axe Guards in Ireland. In addition to the quaint school, the family built St John\u2019s Church at Cloughlea along with the manor house and gate lodge in this part of the world, known as the garden of Ireland. <\/p>\n

On local historian Jim Corely\u2019s website, he explains that these two properties <\/a>were constructed \u201cas a desirable method of uplifting the moral and intellectual fibre of the children of the tenantry\u201d, who had been attending a hedge school before then \u2013 where all references to Irish culture, language and history, \u201cwere sadly, taken out of the schoolbooks\u201d.<\/p>\n

Built to accommodate Catholic and Protestant children, the buildings <\/a>remained in use until June 1969 when the new school \u2013 St Brigid\u2019s \u2013 was opened in the village.<\/p>\n

When first built, these granite gems were purposed as a school and as a school master\u2019s house, where children of the parish would bring a daily sod of turf to keep the fires alive over the winter months.<\/p>\n

Purchased by its current owners in September 1969, the property is now on the market for the first time in more than 50 years. <\/p>\n

What is impressive about these properties \u2013 not just their magical setting, as if being hugged by a blanket of surrounding forest \u2013 is that their transformation from educational facilities was completed by 1972. Their layout and design were the work of architect Stuart Young, who, according to the owners, had trained with Scott Tallon Walker. Their brief was to keep it \u201csimple and pared back, with the use of high-quality materials\u201d.<\/p>\n

How the interiors have not dated over the past 53 years is a testament to superb design <\/a>in both houses, now laid out as a one-bedroom home, with a four-bedroom guest house adjacent.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Old School Houses, Manor Kilbride, Blessington, Co Wicklow \"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Where children would have sat to learn algebra and the like is now the one-bedroom retreat. At 146sq m (1,572sq ft), it\u2019s some space occupied by a large open-plan living and diningroom centred by the original hearth, where the children\u2019s turf would have kept them warm in winter. Overhead is a mezzanine study, under which lies a simple all-white kitchen.<\/p>\n

Here, the flooring from the living space extends into the cooking space, forming an infinity counter \u2013 with the owner\u2019s collection of wooden bowls serving as a divider between the areas. The bedroom lies to the rear, opening out on to a cut stone patio via a set of sliding doors, allowing verdant views of the gardens.<\/p>\n

\"FloatingFloating staircase in the schoolhouse \"InfinityInfinity counter in the schoolhouse \"KitchenKitchen in the schoolhouse \"ViewView from the bedroom in the schoolhouse \"EntryEntry to the master’s house is over a bridge to the rear \"DiningDining area of the master’s house \"UpstairsUpstairs in the master’s house \"KitchenKitchen in the master’s house \"PrivatePrivate woodlands surround the property <\/p>\n

The larger of the two properties is the old school master\u2019s house, now a cleverly laid out four-bedroom home. Accessed from a wooden bridge to the rear, entry brings you directly into the upper floor, where a galley kitchen lies alongside an open-plan living and dining space. Four bedrooms lie below \u2013 accessed by a spiral staircase \u2013 which could be reconfigured to a standard staircase if required. <\/p>\n

Outside, the magic continues in pine-scented gardens designed by art collector and amateur architect Basil Goulding, who lived locally in the Scott Tallon Walker-designed Goulding Summer House.<\/p>\n

Here, old cobble-lock stones from the Gasworks in Dublin were repurposed as a terrace, while the moss-swathed standing stones along the pathway, as you enter through the tiny pedestrian gate, came from surrounding farmlands, where they were used to keep crops away from pests. Central to the gardens is a wonderful lime tree, which is thought to be one of the thousands of trees planted by the Moore family more than a century and a half ago. In autumn months, the surrounding forest floor is home to a variety of edible mushrooms.<\/p>\n

Its location is a bit of a hidden gem in Co Wicklow, and as it\u2019s adjacent to the Wicklow Mountains National Park, new owners will never be short of walks. Though it feels like miles from anywhere, the local village of Manor Kilbride has a shop and a pub, with the historic town of Blessington just five miles away.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an unusual offering in the sense that these are two homes, but having a separate guest house could just be the ticket for someone or a couple wanting tranquillity and a bit of peace. Far from the madding crowds, the delightful Old Schoolhouses which have a Ber of F and occupy 277sq m in total, are now on the market seeking \u20ac835,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Address: The Old School Houses, Manor Kilbride, Blessington, Co Wicklow Price: \u20ac835,000 Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty View…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":154825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,43384,19,17,30943,22736,1658,946],"class_list":{"0":"post-154824","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-escape-to-the-country","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-lisney-sothebys-international-realty","19":"tag-new-to-the-market","20":"tag-property","21":"tag-wicklow"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115467536806326417","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}