Knocknagin House, Delvin Bridge, Gormanstown, Meath

A truly special, French-style, period country house believed to have been originally built around 1680, Knocknagin offers all the elegance of yesteryear combined with modern comforts and a country lifestyle. Beautifully presented, this luxury home exudes lots of charm and character and is set amidst wonderful formal and informal gardens with mature stands of trees and an attractive stream, which runs into the adjoining Delvin River. The entire property is presented in immaculate condition throughout and offers the best of spacious and varied accommodation and home office use in a tranquil garden setting within walking distance (350m) of Gormanston Beach, which is over 3km long.

Knocknagin lies about 2km north of Balbriggan town beside Delvin Bridge just off the R132 old Drogheda road, is about 4km from the M1, Dublin to Belfast Motorway, and is less than 20 minutes drive to Swords and the Airport.

The entire house was virtually rebuilt in 1994, having been vacant for many years before. Using as much original material and local ingredients as possible, the house was meticulously reconstructed and finished to an extremely high standard giving about 782 sq. m. / 8,400 sq ft of bright and spacious accommodation. The house is a two storey, three bay central block with attic floor with a wing attached to each gable. Circa 1860 the casement windows with panes and shutters, replaced the originals. The wings are single storey and are connected to the rear by single storey lofted buildings used for storage.

Historical Notes
Knocknagin, the place name, is derived from the Irish Cnoc na Cean ‘’Hill of the heads’’, a burial mound at the mouth of the River Delvin, where thousands of invaders were slain and buried. According to ancient annalist Dr Hanmer wrote that ‘’the second company of the invading combination came to Lambay, landed their men at the Follesse of Skerries, set them in battle array and marched to a place now known as Cnoc na Cean. It was there that Dermott Lamhdearg, King of Leinster, met them. They fought a cruel battle with equal fortune for the space of four days, when finally the strangers were overthrown, and 36,000 of them slain and buried in a mound at this spot.

Description
Inside, the space and proportions of the main reception rooms and kitchen are exceptional. French windows from all ground floor reception rooms lead out to the gardens and give a great sense of light and freshness to the house.
There is also a terrific sense of symmetry with all the doors, similarly placed to give a long view from one end of the house to the other and together with the high ceilings, allow for all types of furniture to be accommodated.

Accommodation
Entrance Hall with clay tiled floor and arches through to

Ante Room with timber floor and open fireplace and French doors to front of house.

Staircase Hall with clay tiled floor and staircase
.
Guest Cloakroom with wc and wash basin.

Library / Study with open fireplace, French doors to front of house, fitted bookshelves, decorative ceiling rose and cornice. Door through to

Drawing Room: Spacious formal room with timber floor and vaulted ceiling, Ornate marble mantlepiece and grate with Jotul Stove and French doors to front and side of house and through to

Garden/ Sun rooms: 2 large similar rooms, each with a fireplace and several French doors to the side southeast-facing garden and to the enclosed garden.
Door through to large storeroom and office
Off Ante room

Dining Room with timber floor, fine marble mantlepiece, decorative beams and French doors to front of house.

Small Sun porch off with door to inner garden.

Kitchen with clay-tiled floor, French door to garden, oil fired Rayburn cooker. Full range of kitchen cupboards, tiled worktop area, twin enamel sink units and fitted shelving. Door through to wing.

Upstairs: Main house first floor
Large landing with timber floor

Master Bedroom Suite with garden views. With Dressing room, fitted shelving and wardrobe space. Bathroom en suite, with timber floor, bath, shower, bidet, pedestal washbasin and WC.

Bedroom 2: Large double room overlooking garden

Second Floor

Bedroom 3: Large double room overlooking garden.

Bedroom 4 Large double room overlooking garden.
Bathroom: with bath, shower, pedestal washbasin and WC.
Wing

Back hall with clay tiled floor and staircase to TV and sewing rooms and doors to inner garden and to formal garden and through to:

Back kitchen with clay tiled floor, 5 plate gas hob, stainless steel sink unit, fitted cupboards and plumbed for washing machine.

Shower room with shower, WC and washbasin.

Large drying /store room with door to garden and door through to Office area with large store/ filing room and office with part loft/ mezzanine area.

Upstairs

Attic rooms including a den / TV room and a large sewing/ activity room lit with velux windows

The Grounds
The property has two access points from the road. One through the impressive entrance gates and along the main avenue and the other close by and beside the thatched cottage. A tarmacadammed drive flanked with beech hedge, a straight stream and mature trees, leads to the gravelled forecourt

The grounds are bedecked with exquisite natural gardens with lots of flowering species showing up during the changing seasons. There are three principal garden areas: one to the south east which comprise lawns with an abundance of spring flowering bulbs sheltered by mature timber including a weeping ash, an inner garden located within the quadrangle of the house, comprising lawns with pathways, borders, small neat hedgerows and an abundance of potted plants; a rare and very private garden. The third garden is more formal and comprises a series of carefully planned beds growing many varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers. These beds are surrounded by neatly kept lawns and are sheltered with strategically placed beech hedgerows. This garden is enclosed with walls and/or fenced. There is an under and over ground stream leading from the first spring garden under the forecourt and opens up along the boundary between the avenue and the more formal garden. This is very well maintained and runs along to the Delvin River which in turn runs into the Irish sea nearby.

Garage Stores
To connect the garden wings on either side of the main house and complete the quadrangle, there are a series of lofted garages/ stores which provide great dry and safe storage. Across from these stores is the old stone cottage, now used for storage, which has access from the road via the second entrance, by the thatched house.

Location
Balbriggan 2km
Gormanston commuter Railway station 1km
M1 – Junction (7) 4km
Dublin Airport 29km
M50 30 km
Dublin City 40 km
Drogheda 11km
Nearby Balbriggan, Skerries and Drogheda offer a wealth of shops restaurants and pubs, as well as several excellent shops/ supermarkets and the bonus of the new Millfield Shopping Centre under construction in Balbriggan (Tesco) due to open in March 2011 and Scotch Hall in Drogheda and The Pavillions in Swords within 20 minutes drive.

For the sporting enthusiast, aside from the local course at Balbriggan, there are numerous quality golf courses in the locality including Hollywood Lakes and Bettystown and Laytown. Sailing, fishing and general water sports can be enjoyed at the beaches /harbours of Gormanston, Balbriggan, Malahide, Skerries and Rush.

There are numerous schools nearby, both secondary and primary. The area is also ideal for the equestrian enthusiast as there are several top class livery and riding centres, and hunting locally with the Fingal and Ward Union packs

Directions
From Dublin take the M1 north to Exit 7 (Drogheda Julianstown).Follow signs for Balbriggan onto N1 and turn left again for Balbriggan onto R132.Continue for about 2km, pass The Huntsman and Crowing Cock pubs/restaurants and on past Delvin Bridge over the Delvin river and pass nursing home.The entrance is on the right just after the Thatched House. From Balbriggan take the Drogheda road R132 north for 2km.The property is on the left just after sign for North Dublin Commercials

By appointment only