Castletownshend calm at architect’s Traharta
SOME seven decades ago, the late Edward Samuel was busy leaving his mark on West Cork.
Samuel was an architect based in London, and in 1954, he bought a holiday home in West Cork for the princely sum of £54, according to the Hampstead & Highgate Express, and continued to design holiday homes for his north London friends in West
Cork.
Samuel died 11 years ago in 2013 at the age of 89, but his homes continue to catch the eye of property watchers.
And it’s not hard to see why he developed Traharta House in Castletownshend in the 1960s, which sits beside the original Traharta Cottage.
Traharta House and Cottage are on the market with Charles McCarthy Auctioneers for €1.25m.
Sitting overlooking Muir Cheilteach beach, and looking out to Horse Island, the properties are on an enviable waterfront position on an acre of private grounds.
The upper floor of Traharta House has a dining/living room, with timber floor and solid fuel stove fire with marble hearth, with French doors leading to the sun terrace.
The kitchen has built-in wall and floor units. There’s also a pantry, airing cupboard, and housekeeping room.
Traharta House has three bedrooms, which all have access to the sun terrace; a shower room, bathroom and master ensuite shower room.
A spiral staircase gains access to a 23sq m garage with roller door and utility room, which is plumbed for a washer/dryer.
Traharta House measures 139 sq m (1,500 sq ft) and is designed in a Bauhaus style. According to selling agents Charles McCarthy, it featured in a 1968 edition of the celebrated Homes and Gardens magazine.
In Bauhaus style, it uses simple colour schemes, and simple holistic design, with all principal rooms having independent access onto thesouth-facing sun terrace running the length of the house to make most of the coastal vista.
Separately, a sheltered west-facing patio adjacent to the living space is ideal for evening barbecues.
‘There is an added advantage of a rooftop gallery where one can sit and enjoy the long summer evenings whilst admiring the passing seafaring vessels going to and from Castlehaven harbour,’ says the selling agent.
The adjacent detached Traharta Cottage dates back to the 18th century. Recently refurbished, the cottage measures 65 sq m (700 sq ft), and consists of two ground-floor bedrooms, one with understairs storage; shower room, and utility room on the ground floor.
The former hayloft was converted into an open plan kitchen/living/dining room during the renovations. The original exterior stone stairs were retained. The cottage also has its own secluded patio, while there are two garages outside.
Both properties underwent a significant upgrade in 2019, including new plumbing, central heating/hot water systems, insulation, and high thermal efficiency windows and doors.
Traharata House has a C3 BER rating while Traharta Cottage has a G rating.
The days of buying gems on the West Cork coastline for £54, like Edward Samuel did, are long gone, but summer’s evenings looking as far as Galley Head from Traharta House or Traharta Cottage will be priceless for the right buyer.
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