In pictures: Armagh estate sold for over £1.7m

A Northern Ireland businessman has purchased the beautiful Dartan Hall period home and 115-acre estate after an auction that saw three bidders battle it out for the stunning property.

Managing director of Best Property Services Garry Best oversaw the sale, which was originally guided at £1.75m (€1.96m). Bids reached £1.7m (€1.9m) in the room and £1.73m (€1.93m) was later negotiated with the highest bidder as the deal was agreed. It is believed that the businessman who bought the property has agricultural interests.

On the edges of the village of Killylea, the Victorian farm extends to 115 acres, with the dwelling house and farmyard centrally located in the single block of land. The property has magnificent views of the surrounding Armagh countryside.

Built in the 1850s by the Cross family, who had settled in Armagh from Lancashire, the property was extensive refurbished in 1987. Dartan Hall itself is a two-storey home over a basement, extending to 6,975 sq ft and encompasses ground floor kitchen, drawing room, living room and dining room. Upstairs houses four bedrooms, including a master ensuite and a main bathroom. The sale includes the courtyard and extensive farmyard and outbuildings, as well as vacant gate lodge in need of refurbishment.

The farmyard

One of the many impressive features of this estate is the main 200ft by 46ft slatted shed. The shed can hold 250 cattle in 14 pens and has a significant amount of space around the building, meaning it could be easily renovated or extended. There is a 120ft by 36ft open clamp silo that drains into the eight-foot-deep tank below the slatted house. There is also a 60ft by 24ft solid floor shed laid out in five bull pens and there are a range of traditional stone buildings around the courtyard.

The previous owner was involved in suckler beef and pedigree cattle breeding and so the yard has good facilities for working with cattle. Features including a crush, outside pens and weigh bridge means it is no surprise a businessman with agricultural interests was keen to capitalise on the sale of Dartan Hall.

Around 112 acres of the property is good-quality, dry land that is in grass but has potential for arable farming. The remaining five acres is woodland and there are around 600 matures trees, mostly oak, ash and beech. There are also around 100 younger trees that were planted within the last 10 years as part of an agri-environment scheme. The land is mostly free-draining and soils are dry with a sandy component. There are also limestone soils in parts of the farm and soil nutrients have been well managed.

A mains-powered electric fence runs around the farm and fences between fields are either electric, barbed wire or hedgerows. Drinkers are supplied by mains water, but there are four springs on the farm that are collected and piped into a river, meaning there is potential for a private water supply. Basic Payment Scheme entitlements are not being sold with the farm, Irish Country Living understands. CL