An eagerly anticipated auction for a historic Co Westmeath property near Delvin with links to Lawrence of Arabia took place in Trim, Co Meath on Friday 27 February. The property got within €200,000 of doubling its pre-sale guide price of €1.7m.
Trim-based REA TE Potterton were joint agents of this sale along with Cushman & Wakefield. The Property Exchange was the venue for the sale of South Hill House and Farm and while auctions for properties such as this can sometimes fizzle out, this certainly wasn’t the case in this instance.
In front of a packed auction room, auctioneer Thomas Potterton accepted 75 bids from 13 different bidders with a range of increments from €1,000 to €100,000 in the 90 minutes or so before he brought down the gavel.
The house and associated accommodation of 63,000sq ft and 68ac along with the farmyard, were offered in Lot 1. Guided in the region of €900,000 to €1m an opening bid of €750,000 was placed. After several rounds of bidding with five active bidders, Lot 1 reached €2.2m.
An opening bid of its guide price of €700,000 was placed on the 69ac that formed Lot 2. This eventually reached €1m. Combined the Lot 1 and 2 were €2.22m and when offered as Lot 4, an online bid of €30,000 made it €2.250.
Bids piled on until it reached €3.21m at which point the property was placed on the market. With not further bids the hammer fell to a local family with business and farming interests.
Lot 3, a 2ac field across the N51 Road from the main holding opened at €8,000 before selling at €22,000 with three bidders competing. It was bought by a neighbouring local family.
Colourful history
The imposing house on the eastern approaches to Delvin had a colourful history. Believed to have been constructed around 1810 for the Tighe family who originated from Lincolnshire, England, South Hill House is an imposing Georgian three-storey, five-bay house with a basement.
The Chapmans of nearby Killua Castle were a prominent Anglo-Irish landowning family who intermarried with the Tighe family.
Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman was born in 1846, and lived at South Hill House with his wife Edith Boyd-Rochford. The couple had four daughters, and a governess, Sarah Mader (née Lawrence) from Durham in England, was employed to look after their children.
Thomas Tighe Chapman subsequently eloped with the governess to north Wales, where he adopted her surname Lawrence to avoid scandal.
‘Lawrence of Arabia’
The couple had five sons, the second of which, Thomas Edward (TE) became well-known for his exploits in the Middle East during World War I.
Dubbed, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ for his role in the Arab revolt in that time, he was later subject to a 1962 film of the same name.
Acquired by the Sisters of Charity in 1952, they developed South Hill into a special school known as St Mary’s South Hill. This operated until recent years.
See the full property below
Historical South Hill House and Farm is on the outskirts of Delvin, Co Westmeath.
The Sisters of Charity acquired South Hill in 1952 and developed it into a special school known as St Mary’s South Hill.
The interior plasterwork may be attributed to the Danish artist Thorvaldsen.
The property still retains all the charm and dignity of the Georgian period.
The three story staircase having features grand bow windows.
Included among the accommodation is a cottage.
The farmyard, is an attractive court yard with a range of stone out offices with slate roofs.
A portion of the old farmyard, the buildings in which are protected structures, is close to the N51 Road.
The land is typical of the border area between Meath and Westmeath, undulating and laid out in large fields.
A slatted house formed part of the livestock accommodation on the farm.
An eagerly anticipated auction for a historic Co Westmeath property near Delvin with links to Lawrence of Arabia took place in Trim, Co Meath on Friday 27 February. The property got within €200,000 of doubling its pre-sale guide price of €1.7m.
Trim-based REA TE Potterton were joint agents of this sale along with Cushman & Wakefield. The Property Exchange was the venue for the sale of South Hill House and Farm and while auctions for properties such as this can sometimes fizzle out, this certainly wasn’t the case in this instance.
In front of a packed auction room, auctioneer Thomas Potterton accepted 75 bids from 13 different bidders with a range of increments from €1,000 to €100,000 in the 90 minutes or so before he brought down the gavel.
The house and associated accommodation of 63,000sq ft and 68ac along with the farmyard, were offered in Lot 1. Guided in the region of €900,000 to €1m an opening bid of €750,000 was placed. After several rounds of bidding with five active bidders, Lot 1 reached €2.2m.
An opening bid of its guide price of €700,000 was placed on the 69ac that formed Lot 2. This eventually reached €1m. Combined the Lot 1 and 2 were €2.22m and when offered as Lot 4, an online bid of €30,000 made it €2.250.
Bids piled on until it reached €3.21m at which point the property was placed on the market. With not further bids the hammer fell to a local family with business and farming interests.
Lot 3, a 2ac field across the N51 Road from the main holding opened at €8,000 before selling at €22,000 with three bidders competing. It was bought by a neighbouring local family.
Colourful history
The imposing house on the eastern approaches to Delvin had a colourful history. Believed to have been constructed around 1810 for the Tighe family who originated from Lincolnshire, England, South Hill House is an imposing Georgian three-storey, five-bay house with a basement.
The Chapmans of nearby Killua Castle were a prominent Anglo-Irish landowning family who intermarried with the Tighe family.
Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman was born in 1846, and lived at South Hill House with his wife Edith Boyd-Rochford. The couple had four daughters, and a governess, Sarah Mader (née Lawrence) from Durham in England, was employed to look after their children.
Thomas Tighe Chapman subsequently eloped with the governess to north Wales, where he adopted her surname Lawrence to avoid scandal.
‘Lawrence of Arabia’
The couple had five sons, the second of which, Thomas Edward (TE) became well-known for his exploits in the Middle East during World War I.
Dubbed, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ for his role in the Arab revolt in that time, he was later subject to a 1962 film of the same name.
Acquired by the Sisters of Charity in 1952, they developed South Hill into a special school known as St Mary’s South Hill. This operated until recent years.
See the full property below
Historical South Hill House and Farm is on the outskirts of Delvin, Co Westmeath.
The Sisters of Charity acquired South Hill in 1952 and developed it into a special school known as St Mary’s South Hill.
The interior plasterwork may be attributed to the Danish artist Thorvaldsen.
The property still retains all the charm and dignity of the Georgian period.
The three story staircase having features grand bow windows.
Included among the accommodation is a cottage.
The farmyard, is an attractive court yard with a range of stone out offices with slate roofs.
A portion of the old farmyard, the buildings in which are protected structures, is close to the N51 Road.
The land is typical of the border area between Meath and Westmeath, undulating and laid out in large fields.
A slatted house formed part of the livestock accommodation on the farm.
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