A crumbling Victorian mansion in Co Laois is on the market for a slashed price, in the hopes its buyer will invest in restoring its former glory.
Millbrook House near Abbeyleix is for sale for just €150,000 but there is a costly catch, according to the Laois Nationalist.
A substantial sum will be needed to save the decaying building built in 1885, which has not been lived in for many years and is now crumbling into ruin.
The mansion was once part of the De Vesci Estate and is located on the estate road that leads to Abbey Leix House, which was recently bought for €20 million by Tipperary-born billionaire John Collison, co-founder of Stripe.
The giant five-bay two-storey house extends to 9,000 square feet over three floors, and is located on a 4.2 acre site including a detached coach house in the courtyard.
The period property was taken over by Laois County Council under a compulsory purchase order (CPO) last May, in the hope that it would be sensitively restored by a private buyer.
The protected structure is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and its private treaty sale is subject to conditions that include a timeframe for completion of essential weatherproofing and restoration works.
On its website, selling agents Power Property describes Millbrook House as “in very poor condition” and in need of total refurbishment.
The accommodation on the ground floor includes two reception rooms, a study, dining room, kitchen, parlour and more.
The first floor has seven or eight rooms, with a similar number of rooms on the second floor in the attic space.
In the courtyard to the north-east of the main house, there is the coach house, a number of stables and a tack room.
The grounds at Millbrook House, which was originally built as a steward’s house, include features such as a mill pond but are severely overgrown.
Expressions of interest are sought from parties willing to preserve the important period building before 4pm on August 24th.
Application forms and additional information are available from Power Property by contacting Kathy McDonagh or Andrew Carberry on 090 6489000 or by email to kathy@ppg.ie or andrew@ppg.ie.
