Old Church House Has Angels, Stained Glass ... and Graveyard in the Garden
The British listing begins like many others – a home situated in the heart of Lincolnshire with stunning views of open countryside – but this home isn’t like any other.
It was a church from the 1860s until about 40 years ago, complete with its own cemetery.
Andrew Bennett, 52, and his partner, Vicky Herring, 45, have lived there for the last 12 years, enjoying its second phase of life as a modern home (with a few gothic touches).
Most people adore it, he says – there really isn’t anything quite like it – but some feel a bit “spooked” by the idea. It was once a fully operational church, graveyard and all, as an old photograph proves quite dramatically.
JHWalter real estate agent Linda Allatt told Metro.co.uk: “We had a few viewings, as it is a beautiful home, but I think people may have been put off by the gravestones. It’s not an active graveyard – you don’t have people going there to put flowers down – but there are still a few gravestones there.”
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Bennett laughs the idea off.
“There are no graves standing up in the garden, which occupies about a third of an acre,” he told Yahoo Real Estate over email from England. “There are two ‘tombs’ close by to the house, but they are not obvious, and they are very ornate.”
The building’s churchy and homey touches are woven together: The kitchen is bright, white and airy, and at the same time, a stained-glass window and four carved angels lord over any meal prepared on the granite countertops. The master bedroom sits in the crown of the building, beams arching together like hands in prayer, reminding anyone in the room that yes, this once was a church.
An artisan glassblower converted this Victorian church in the small village of Cold Hanworth, England, into an artist’s studio.
“Over the proceeding decades it was acquired by an architect, who did much of the original conversion, followed by an art teacher at a local school, who continued this work,” says Bennett, who carried on tradition of its past owners by adding his family’s own touch.
“I feel we have been very privileged to live there for these last 12 years,” Bennett told Yahoo Real Estate. “We feel we have improved it as a living space and made it more homely and practical. It will be up to the next couple to do the same! We are all custodians of what is an old, historic and very special place.”
The Old Church House is now on the market at a “guide price” of 450,000 pounds, or about $690,000.
Bennett and Herring bought the house in 2003. They had seen it plenty of times while walking their dogs and often wondered what it would be like to live there.
“Purely by coincidence, I heard that the church was on the market from a local blacksmith friend who lives near to the property,” Bennett says. “We like old places with character, and this has it in spades.”
They moved in, joined by dogs and a cat, and then welcomed their son in 2007. Three years ago, they did a major overhaul and modernized the space, renovated the kitchen, and built a huge screen to separate the extremely open first floor.
Just as Bennett wondered before moving in, he says that everyone wants to know what it’s like to live in a church.
“It actually feels very much like a home to us,” he says. “It’s a very open plan, with lots of light streaming through the windows. Many of them are stained glass. It’s a very calm and peaceful place to live.”
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(Photos, unless otherwise noted, from the JHWalters listing)
