Formerly St Mary’s School, the 123-acre South Hill estate is being sold by the Sisters of Charity. The attractive country house, which extends to 11,000 sq ft together with an additional 52,000 sq ft of accommodation, is being included in lot 1 along with 68 acres and this lot is guiding in the region of €900,000-€1m.
Enhanced by period features, the house presents ornate plasterwork, chimney pieces in the main reception rooms, a three-storey staircase and bow windows. Eight buildings incorporate residential, medical, education and leisure uses.
Both house and farmyard are protected structures. Unzoned, the agents believe that it could appeal to someone seeking a period country house or a farmer seeking its grazing.
Lot 2 comprises 69 acres of agricultural land with a €700,000 guide price. Lot 3 consists of about two acres, which could accommodate a new house, and has a €30,000 guide price.
Ryan Murphy of Cushman and Wakefield, and Elliott Potterton of REA TE Potterton are handling the auction which takes place on Friday February 27 in the Property Exchange, Trim, Co Meath and online on the LSL Auctions platform.
Today’s News in 90 – Thursday February 5
The link to Lawrence of Arabia arose because his father, Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman, had lived at South Hill with his wife Edith and four daughters until he eloped with their governess Sarah Mader, known as Lawrence, to North Wales where Thomas Edward (T E) Lawrence was born in 1888.
Adopting the name Lawrence to avoid any scandal, the couple settled in Oxford. T E Lawrence became known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ for his role in the British alliance with the Arab tribes against the Ottoman empire in World War I.
His story was subsequently made into a film of the same name, directed by David Lean and starring Peter O’Toole.
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