Unique Castletown homes in period courtyard setting

A very interesting new development of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes within a very attractive courtyard setting at Headstown, Castletown, Navan, has recently come on the market. Headstown Courtyard was built in Castletown in the 1770s by Lieutenant-Colonel Gerrard and is a prime example of a Georgian, cut-stone courtyard. It was to serve as the staff quarters for the main house, construction on which started the following year. Lieutenant-Colonel Gerrard then had a change of plan and built Gibbstown House instead. As a result, The Courtyard is a unique group of houses that have now been refurbished. Headstown is a very fine, cut limestone, 18th century courtyard that has been very tastefully restored and now features seven houses. Each house is unique with period finishes and generous private back gardens. Attention to detail has been the key to the success of this restoration. Extremely private but ideally located just off the N52 with links to the M1 and the planned M3 interchange nearby, the property is highly accessible to Dublin, Belfast and the airport. The courtyard is accessed by a long avenue with electric gates leading into the landscaped inner courtyard, with private gardens to the rear. The houses are a mixture of two-, three- and four-bedroom units and have been completed to a very high specification with feature timber sash windows, traditional hand-painted kitchens equipped with a Smeg range cooker, Fischer Paykell dishwasher, Smeg fridge-freezer and integrated washing machine, complete with granite countertops. The bathrooms and en-suites have been finished to a superior level of quality with Grohe taps and Gustavsberg sanitary ware. Additionally, there are Portuguese limestone fireplaces, French doors leading onto sandstone patios and private gardens, solid timber floors and under-floor heating. The homes also have intruder alarms, broadband and access intercoms. The whole property has been sympathetically landscaped in a tasteful period style that can be easily maintained and the whole property has been refurbished to a very high specification. The Gerrards are one of County Meath"s oldest families, able to trace their lineage back to the Fitzgeralds and the Geraldines of old. The Eighth Earl of Desmond had five sons, one of whom, Gerrott of Moyrath, marched through Meath and Kildare laying waste English houses as he passed in his fury following the execution of his father. A number of his brothers settled in various homes around Meath, one at which is now Gerrardstown, Dunshaughlin, and one near Damastown. The family was also very prominent around Kildare, and Leinster House on Kildare Street in Dublin, the present Dail, was their Dublin seat. John Gerrard of The Bay at The Ward became the first Master of the Ward Union Hunt when he joined his Hollywood Hounds with the nearby pack of Dubber at Finglas, living at The Bay until 1858. Prices for homes at The Courtyard start from €210,000 and the development is available through Ronan McKenna at Navan estate agents Raymond Potterton, who can be contacted on (046) 902 7666 for further information or to make an appointment to view the property.