From this Irish mansion with a full go-kart track to the stately and historical Knockdrin Castle, unique real estate offerings in Ireland is hot, hot, hot — and it’s about to get hotter with the recent announcement that Rivverrun Castle is for sale.
Well, not the real Riverrun, because that’s the fictional home of House Tully, found in George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. We’re talking about Riverrun’s real-life stand-in, Gosford Castle, which played the exterior part of the riparian palace during the filming of the HBO version of ASOIF, Game of Thrones.
Yes, you can own a part of the famous fortress — but only a part. After being constructed in the mid-1800s by the second Earl of Gosford, the castle was used as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp. The land around the castle late became a conservation forest for several decades before returning to military work during The Troubles. In the modern era, the property was a hotel until 2006 when Gosford Castle came under the care and purview of Gosford Castle Development Limited.
According to Maison Real Estate, Gosford Castle Development Limited “put forward a £4 million proposal to restore the Grade A listed building into 23 luxury residences. The restoration was undertaken by artisans and craftsmen with a focus on retaining the character and historic integrity of the castle. Particular care was taken to use existing features such as staircases and vaulted ceilings and even to use original color schemes wherever possible. These apartments are extremely popular and command great interest when they are placed on the market.”
So, what do you get for the individual £500,000 (or nearly $640,000) parcel? For starters, you get 15-plus bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 10 “reception” rooms, and no heating; a few offer rooftop gardens But those rooms don’t necessarily have to be all for you, especially if real estate investment is the aim of your game. Instead, feel free to divide up your portion of the castle into six separate apartments (as suggested by Gosford Castle Development), each of which would offer 3,500 square feet of living space.
Your slice of Riverrun is definitely going to need some restoration and rejuvenation, but when it’s all over, you can proudly say that you own a piece of both real and cinematic history.
