Old School

Embarking on a restoration project to turn a derelict schoolhouse into a modern working home, was a labour of love for this homeowner.

For years, this old building sat on an overgrown site on the outskirts of the village of Newcastle, Co. Wicklow, its worn façade and crumbling walls playing witness to times gone by. It was an executor sale in 2013 that piqued curiosity, prompting a deeper delve into the house’s history and potential. The first real examination of the interior however brought home a daunting reality. It was musty and damp, with an air thick with neglect. The house’s fragility was evident; it seemed barely held together, like a patchwork of memories and time. Eventually, safety considerations led to the sensible decision to take down everything but three sturdy stone walls. ‘I was left with three stone walls, no windows and no roof,’ explains the homeowner. Adding that while they were standing there amid the decay and rubble, they ‘hoped that what remained was not just the remnants of a house, but the bones of a beautiful future’.

Read more in the July issue…