Best heritage homes in Co. Wexford

A glebe house among the orchards of south Wexford

The selling agent dates this house to 1860 and describes it as protected and listed. It stands within mature grounds near Foulksmills, with a three-bay rendered front, a slate roof and a modest entrance porch, giving it the composed, unshowy presence of a country gentleman's house. Glebe houses were traditionally homes for clergy, set on church land. That is general context for the building type, and the listing does not set out this particular house's clerical history. Inside, the rooms are tall: the agent quotes ground-floor ceilings of just over three metres. Shuttered sash windows, plasterwork, timber floors and quarry-tiled service rooms run from the reception rooms through to the pantry and scullery, so the old working layout of the house can still be read. The restoration the listing describes has added stoves, an Esse cooker and updated bathrooms without crowding the proportions. Outside, a courtyard of stone outbuildings includes what the agent calls the original coach house, along with a greenhouse, an orchard and a wildflower garden. It is a house for slow mornings and long summer lunches, and it is a short stroll from the village.

Edwardian ease between the paddocks and the beaches

According to the listing, Ballyhitt House was built in 1902. It shows that moment well: a hipped roof, a symmetrical front and a pair of front doors framing a hand-crafted stained-glass panel, which makes for a warm first impression. The agent says the original sash windows have been refurbished. Original fireplaces, cornicing and solid timber floors carry through the hall, the principal rooms and the upper bedrooms, so the old house still feels like one piece. The listing dates the rear extension to 2011. It holds a shaker kitchen and a bright dining room with a full-height gable window, and it reads clearly as a newer addition while keeping to the scale of the original. Daily life can therefore move between the Edwardian rooms at the front and a modern, garden-facing kitchen at the back. The setting adds much of the appeal: stud-fenced paddocks, broadleaf trees and apple orchards lie a few minutes' drive from Ballytrent, St Helen's Bay and the lake country around Our Lady's Island. It suits family life, horses or simply walks on the beach.

The priest's house at Sion, waiting for its next chapter

The listing states that this parochial house was built around 1845 by Father Nicholas Furlong. That attribution comes from the agent rather than from independent research. Across rural Ireland, parochial houses were built as dignified homes for the parish priest, usually substantial but restrained, and this one fits that general pattern: a double-fronted, hipped-roof house with tall chimneys, set among mature trees on roughly an acre. A glazed porch now runs across the front, and its date is unclear. Inside, a long hall leads to two generous reception rooms with open fireplaces, high ceilings and period detailing. The staircase rises beneath a lofty ceiling to large bedrooms, one of them lit by an unusually tall window. The house appears comfortably habitable as it stands. The agent notes that it is not a protected structure, which may give an owner more freedom to adapt it, subject to planning. That makes careful upgrading of comfort and energy performance a real part of its story, alongside the pleasure of living in rooms built for parish visitors and long evenings by the fire.

Bay windows and Slaney views on a Wexford terrace

Glena Terrace shows the confident domestic building of early-1900s Wexford: red brick, projecting bay windows and a glazed transom above the front door, all facing the street with quiet assurance. Terraces like this generally housed the town's professional and merchant families, and the layout follows that familiar plan, with a gracious hall, linked front and rear reception rooms through an archway, and accommodation climbing over three floors and a return. Cornices, dado rails, panelled doors and a continuous staircase survive. The kitchen, with its pine cladding, and the altered rear are where later decades show most. The listing describes sea and river views over the Slaney from the upper rear rooms, and a landscaped back garden with a water feature. The house appears liveable now. The agent also presents it as ready for sympathetic updating of the kitchen, bathrooms and insulation, which would suit a buyer who enjoys bringing a period house gently up to date. The quays, the Opera House and Main Street are within walking distance.

Three Lights: a whitewashed cottage above Ballyconnigar

Few cottages sit as dramatically as this one. The listing places it on an elevated site above Ballyconnigar Beach, a few minutes from Blackwater village, with wide sea views and two acres around it. The cottage has the long, low-eaved profile of the coastal vernacular, with thick whitewashed walls and small windows set deep against the weather. Inside, painted ceiling beams, deep reveals and an open hearth keep the old atmosphere intact. Later timber-clad additions, roof lights and updated kitchen and bathroom fittings have made it more practical. The agent describes it as a traditional cottage that has been modernised and now needs a fresh round of attention. The photographs suggest cosmetic refreshing rather than reconstruction, so it reads as a home that can be enjoyed while being gradually improved. A separate studio outside offers room to paint, write or work. The listing also mentions two vehicular entrances, which add flexibility to a beachside setting.

A fanlit townhouse with a hidden garden behind

Saint Brendan's is the kind of modest period townhouse that once made up much of Irish urban life. It has a plain rendered front, an arched doorway crowned by a fanlight and two storeys of well-proportioned rooms. Its fabric suggests the nineteenth century, although the listing gives no date. Inside, the basic order survives: a timber staircase with a simple balustrade, panelled doors, fireplaces and coved ceilings in the sitting room. Later kitchen and shower-room fittings are modest and leave that structure largely alone. What surprises is the back garden, which the agent describes as deceptively large and private, a rare piece of green space so close to Main Street, the quays and the town's schools. The house appears habitable now, and anyone moving in would be taking on a home that rewards patient refurbishment, with the chance to restore its character room by room.

Worth checking: The listing states that the house would benefit from refurbishment and modernisation. The photographs show worn decoration and peeling wallpaper, and the stated BER is G, so buyers should expect a significant programme of updating.

Clondaw House: a Victorian farmhouse at the heart of a working holding

The agent dates Clondaw House to around 1891 and adds that it has changed hands only three times since then. That suggests long family stewardship, though the listing names no owners. Outwardly it keeps the quiet authority of a late-Victorian Irish farmhouse: two storeys, three bays, a pitched roof and twin chimneys at the end of a long approach from the road. Inside is a different story. The house has been thoroughly modernised, with open-plan living, tiled floors and stone-clad feature walls, so its heritage lies mainly in its form, scale and setting rather than in surviving interior detail. That is no criticism, because the rooms appear comfortable and in full daily use. What makes Clondaw distinctive is the way the house still anchors a substantial holding. The listing describes stables, a sand arena and livery facilities set within extensive lands near Ferns and Enniscorthy. For anyone who wants an old farmhouse that still sits within working land, rather than a house cut off from it, it has real appeal.

Worth checking: The listing states that the land is currently rented until 31 December 2026.

A plain-spoken farmhouse beneath the Blackstairs

This is the Irish farmhouse at its most straightforward: two storeys, three bays, a central porch, a slated roof and a chimney at each gable. It sits back from the road behind lawn and hedging, with the Blackstairs Mountains rising behind. The listing calls it a traditional stone farmhouse-style residence, extended to the rear. Inside, uPVC windows, modern floors and a fitted kitchen show that it has been updated for comfort, so its heritage value rests chiefly in its form, its proportions and its place in the landscape. In that respect it is a fair example of a type that once housed farming families across the county. A yard of stores and a three-bay hay shed give it a working context, and the photographs show a home in good order and ready for daily life. It would suit someone who wants honest rural character, mountain walks close by and space to garden or keep a few animals.

Worth checking: The listing offers the residence and a larger agricultural landholding as separate lots, so the wider farmland is not necessarily included with the house.

Minstrel Cottage: a hearthside home on Whiterock Hill

The agent describes Minstrel Cottage as an extended traditional home. Its low, symmetrical front with a central porch and chimney carries the modest dignity of the vernacular cottage, even in a setting that is now firmly suburban. The heart of the house is the sitting room, where a broad hearth with an exposed timber beam and brick chimney breast holds a stove, the kind of fireside around which cottage life traditionally revolved. Elsewhere, pine stairs, newer joinery and smooth finishes show the extension and refurbishment more clearly, and it is hard to tell how much early fabric survives behind them. The listing notes that the kitchen and some flooring are left for a new owner to finish, which gives a buyer room to set the tone. It is a small, sociable home within walking distance of schools and shops, and close to Johnstown Castle and Curracloe.

Assaly Cottage: a two-up, two-down in a gardener's paradise

The listing dates this cottage to the early part of the last century and describes its origins as a two-up, two-down. That compact plan housed countless rural Irish households, with a kitchen-living room and parlour below and bedrooms tucked under the roof above. Its original core can still be felt in the snug sitting room, where a stove sits within what the agent calls the original fireplace surround, and in the timber-lined ceilings of the upstairs bedrooms. A sunroom and a rear kitchen wing have since made the house far more comfortable. They interrupt its cottage continuity somewhat, but they do not erase it. The real glory here is the garden. The agent describes it as mature and densely planted with trees, shrubs and seasonal flowers, a haven for wildlife within reach of Killinick, Rosslare and Wexford town. A traditional outbuilding and old iron gates complete a picture of a house that has been tended rather than reinvented.

Worth checking: The listing states that the property is in the path of the proposed M11 motorway development and is liable to the compulsory purchase process. Buyers should treat this as a fundamental consideration.

Mullaunnasmear: a stone farmhouse at the foot of the mountains

The listing describes Mullaunnasmear as an old stone-built, two-storey farmhouse cottage at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains, reached by a shared driveway. It is a building that has been left largely as it was. Exposed stone walls, timber ceiling joists, a broad hearth breast, deep window recesses and timber latch doors survive with little modern intrusion, and the plan remains simple: a living room to one side, a kitchen-dining room to the other, and bedrooms above. Houses like this, built from local stone and arranged around the fire, were once common in the foothill farmland. Few now survive with so little change, and that is what gives this one its value. It is also a serious undertaking. The agent states that it needs complete refurbishment throughout, including the installation of services, and the photographs show damp and failing finishes. The roof appears intact, but no one should assume the masonry or timbers are sound without proper investigation. For a restorer with patience, there is a chance to keep the honest, workaday character that newer cottages can only imitate. An old stone shed at the front adds to the scene.

Worth checking: The listing states that complete refurbishment is required throughout, including the installation of services, and that access is by a shared driveway. Buyers should clarify the shared access arrangements and the full scope of works.