PROPERTY WATCH: Stunning historic Laois house with literary links going under the hammer

A historic Laois house with a literary past will go under the hammer later this month with a starting price of €1.2 million. 

Woodbrook House and Lands in Portarlington is set on private parklands covering 39.51 ha/ or 97.62 acres. The 1,398 square metres or 15,078 square foot property has a master bedroom and 12 bedroom suites and is believed to have been regularly frequented by Johnathan Swift as he was writing Gulliver's Travels.

Centrally located within its own lands, surrounded by mature specimen trees.

The accommodation of the main house comprises of a reception hall, stair hall, six reception rooms, kitchen, orangery, master bedroom Suite, 12 further bedroom suites, a number of offices and stores.

The main staircase services the front of the house and the second staircase, situated within the tower, services all floors and gives access to the roof over the wing.

“Steeped in history, Woodbrook was acquired by Knightley Chetwood through marriage in 1698. In the late 1790s or early 1800s, part of Woodbrook House was destroyed by fire. Jonathan Chetwood, working with the architect James Shiel, rebuilt the manor about 1816. 

Edward Wilmot took the name Chetwood in 1839 when he inherited Woodbrook. The estate stayed within the Chetwood family until 1969. In the 1970’s the wing and towers were knocked. What stands today is a replica of the original Regency wing and tower built in 2003,” according to the auctioneers.  

It is believed Jonathan Swift travelled frequently to Woodbrook, using it as his weekend retreat, and it is here he penned much of Gulliver's Travels.

Throughout the original sections of the house there are fine period features synonymous with its era, to include high corniced ceilings with centre roses, recessed sash windows with shutters, marble fireplaces and drawings. 

The house has wonderful portioned light filled rooms, ideal for family living or entertaining on a grand scale. The internal works of the wing and tower have not been completed and many of the rooms are in a shell or at 2nd fix stage. The house will require further investment.

To the rear of the property is a courtyard, with various cut stone buildings, yards and walled gardens in need of restoration.

A one bedroom Gate Lodge is tucked inside the original stone pillars and entrance gates, which leads to the tree lined avenue which meanders up to a large gravel forecourt at the front of the property.

The lands are all in one block and include some good quality lands, which are currently in tillage lands and grass pasture. Magnificent specimen tress surround the house and gardens. The property and lands are being sold as is.

Woodbrook House and Gate Lodge are both listed on the Laois County Council Record of Protected Structures. 

The property is being sold by Wilsons Auctions on Wednesday, August 30 at 4pm.