Enniskerry has been attracting celebrities for decades: from current-day musician Chris de Burgh to novelist Frederick Forsyth, who penned more than 20 thrillers including The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Fourth Protocol. Forsyth latter lived at Kilgarron House for five years from 1975 and it is on its lands that Redwood, a “boutique” development of just eight, sizeable, detached homes has been built with the main house also being refurbished for sale at a later date.
The setting is sylvan. At its heart is a majestic redwood, sequoiadendron giganteum, one of a hundred such trees that are said to have been given by a grateful Duke of Wellington to Lord Powerscourt, to thank him for his help in securing victory at the Battle of Waterloo. The lands once formed part of the estate whose Richard Cassels-designed palladian mansion, Powerscourt House and gardens, is the big tourist draw in this part of Wicklow.
The homes – two four-beds of 191sq m (2,056sq ft) and six five-beds of 246sq m – have been set out in a circular fashion around the listed tree. Adjacent to it is a fine copper beech and there are other mature specimens planted across the 0.66 of an acre site that lend it a very established feel despite the newness of the properties.
The homes are all two-storey and are bordered by Wicklow granite walls from nearby Ballyknockan, and capped with grey cut-granite. The development is by Knocknee Properties, run by the Burton family with builder Eamonn Holmes of Carrowlyn. Previously they developed The Willows, a scheme in Kilcoole, and Castlelynn in Bray, where 11 houses were built on the site of an old house.
Asking prices start from €995,000 for the four-bed properties but it is the five-bedroom homes that will attract the most attention for these double-fronted designs have an abundance of space.
The ceiling heights at hall level soar to 2.8m and the properties come with all flooring included, and a choice of several shades of engineered oak, warmed by underfloor heating, operated by an air to water system.
There’s a study to the left but it is the dual aspect living room to the right that is the show-stopper. It has a box-bay window as well as a pair of windows on the adjoining exterior wall which makes for a lovely symmetrical room with the inclusion of an electric fire at its heart, as interior designer Deirdre Wilson of Wilson & Co has done in the showhouse.
Sliding timber doors lead through to the large eat-in kitchen that spans the width of the house, a distance of over 10m. It is fitted with dark grey acrylic units by Kerwood Design that are perfectly proportioned to fit in this large space. The dark handle-less doors have copper detailing, while there’s a sink at the window and another on the island. The kitchen comes with Neff appliances and the separate utility room has also been fitted out using the same cabinetry, a nice example of the attention to detail throughout.
The homes have been designed by Mary Anne Parsons of Bray-based MPBA Architects and her smart layout gives three of the five bedrooms windowed shower en suite bathrooms.
The main bedroom suite also has a walk-in wardrobe. The fifth bedroom – big enough to take a small double bed – could double as a sizeable home office.
There is ample off-street parking as well as side access to the rear gardens. Some of the houses have views of the sea from the first floor.
Prices for the five-bedroom units range from €1.15 million to €1.35 million through agent Hooke & MacDonald.
