Want to live in an old rectory? This very large former clergy home is for sale in Kildare for €1.25M

The Old Rectory in Maynooth is up for sale, and there are sure to be plenty of people interested in buying such a large property in a prime location in the north Kildare town. It hasn't been in the hands of the Church of Ireland for 36 years at this stage, but it retains all of its traditional features on the outside. The property has six bedrooms and four bathrooms inside, while a large courtyard and garden outside the premises offers plenty of space for parking and gardening for any prospective buyers. Interestingly, the four bedrooms in the upstairs of the property come equipped with fireplaces, while one of these also has an ensuite. For connoisseurs of wine, there is also a wine cellar built into the ground floor. The Old Rectory is a Georgian house with classical proportions, built in around the 1720s by the Duke of Leinster as a residence for the Rector of St Mary' s Church of Ireland church on the same street. Originally it was a slightly smaller house, until in the 1880s when one of the Rectors, who apparently had thirteen children to accommodate, added another two windows on to the end of the building, joining it up with the stable block in the stable yard. It remained in the possession of the Church of Ireland, and in use as the Rectory of the parish, until 1980 when the Church sold it to the Hayley family who were moving to Maynooth so that Barbara Hayley could take up a teaching post at the University - she went on to become Professor of English there, a post she held until her death in 1991. The house has remained in the possession of the Hayley family ever since. The Old Rectory is on the market for €1.25 million and the sale is being handled by Sherry Fitzgerald.