With a nuttery and horse facilities, €640,000 Blake Lodge is worth ponying up for

THERE’S both heritage and horse connections at Blake Lodge in East Cork, a fully upgraded four-bed home that evolved out of a centuries old hunting lodge, and will, reckons the owner/vendor “be perfect for a business family who’ll have space; a large storage shed, horse facilities, and four acres”, all of that, plus a nuttery.

The quirky, yet highly practical mix of comfort for humans and horses, is being sold by retired environmental consultant Stephen Griffin, originally from Dublin, who married Cork woman Christine and was brought south to her native patch.

They bought and rescued a Georgian style small estate, Blake House on c 30 acres, and over time it was family home to two daughters and a son, got planted with hundreds, if not thousands of trees, many of them exotic, and dozens of various nut trees, many sourced from Stephen’s travels.

The main 2,400sq ft period house, and an adjacent 700sq ft converted stone coach house, featured here in spring 2021, and sold that year for a recorded €755,000, was bought by an overseas buyer with some local connections.

Now, an adjacent but very private part of the original Blake Twomey family’s lands/property mix, Blake Lodge is next for sale “and was never done to sell, I did it for our son Cian to live in on the land”, says vendor Stephen.

Sadly, Cian who’d been studying on UCC’s entrepreneurial Ignite course when he got a leukaemia diagnosis, passed away after brave battles in 2020.

Stephen, who now spends summers in Canada and winters in rural Ballinbrittig, Carrigtwohill, occupied himself building again, adding a new-build to his output over 30 years in Cork at Blake House, at the coach house, and at this one-off, Blake Lodge.

The new family home in Cork is a state of the art steel ‘black box’ designed by CEA, and Blake Lodge is now being sold, in walk-in condition, with personality, thanks to its mix of old stone and new finishes, with great resources right up to it.

This includes the converted lodge, stable building/ barn/ store, lunging ring, arena (needing work), and paddock, all up a private 100metre avenue, and with a national school within walk distance.

Selling agent is Paul Fenton of Sherry FitzGerald, who guides the 114sq m/1,200sq ft three-/ four-bedroom home at €640,000 (it had been offered last year with a different agent, at a slightly higher sum of €660,000).

The lodge is split-level, with two/ three ground floor bedrooms (plus bathroom), with three feature arched glazed windows/walls, and above (via a spiral stairs) is the larger, main living/ dining and kitchen with one, further, en suite bedroom.

Because of its age, it’s BER exempt and there’s oil central heating, wood effect pvc double glazing and services such as well water and waste tank on site.

VERDICT: So many options, for business or pleasure, plus there’s productive gardens and nut trees for edible harvests — nuttery will get you everywhere or, to Blake Lodge, at least