A certain arresting charm
THOSE dreaming of a home that has real “wow-factor” are spoilt for choice in Britain. They may not have Hollywood kitchens or spa-like bathrooms but they do have something that few other countries can offer: eccentricity.
Converted windmills, water towers, chapels and follies are to be found all over the UK and those who live in them love them.
“Certain types of buildings such as a folly are romantic and whimsical, while others such as converted windmills are simply very visually attractive,” agrees Savills Clifton director Richard Brooks.
“Often, with conversions, it’s about recognising the history attached to it and that one’s home is in a building which once had an entirely different use altogether.
“These types of properties won’t necessarily suit everyone, particularly those who have certain requirements for their living accommodation and its layout,” he points out.
But he adds: “It often takes a certain type of buyer to fall in love with the architectural qualities of a conversion or home that is out-of-the-ordinary.”
One such owner is now selling his former magistrates’ court and police station home in Royston, Hertfordshire, where the courtroom has been converted into an openplan kitchen-dining-living room.
Three cells are now a gym, study and utility room and the original exercise yard has an outdoor kitchen and fireplace and is partly covered.
“It was a combination of the utter uniqueness of the property and its excellent location that initially drew me to it,” he says.
“Externally the house is hugely characterful but internally it has a much more contemporary look and feel, although crucially it retains a great many really beautiful and in some cases quite unusual features.
“The old prison cells – complete with the original cell doors – have been transformed and the old courtroom still has the original huge windows, a big marble fireplace and a gorgeous vaulted ceiling.
“The old and the new blend beautifully throughout.”
Royston is well-placed for travel to London or Cambridge by road or rail, with Stansted Airport just down the M11.
“I also love the fact that the town is surrounded by some beautiful countryside and I can go running or walking on Therfield Heath, which is a stone’s throw away and absolutely stunning.
“I feel like I have the best of everything here.” The Old Magistrates Court has four bedrooms and four reception rooms plus a separate basement and is for sale for £800,000 with Fine & Country (0330 333 1060; fineandcountry. com) but Savills also has some stunning unusual homes, too.
Whitecourt is a converted chapel in the pretty village of Uley, near Dursley in Gloucestershire, half a mile from the Cotswold Way. The former Methodist chapel is Grade II listed and was built in 1790 but after its closure in 1972 it was converted into a home in the 1990s.
It has a flamboyant kitchen-breakfast room, a light-filled drawing room, four large bedrooms upstairs and is for sale at £650,000 (01285 627555; savills.co.uk).
Savills also has a windmill for sale in Croxton, 11 miles north of Stafford in the West Midlands, which was a working mill for 100 years until 1877.
Now the Grade II listed three-bedroom home has an unusual open-plan groundfloor family room with the main living room on the first floor to take in the 360-degree views.
Two full-length windows replace what were once doors and there’s a French window out to a first-floor terrace. The master bedroom is on the third floor – again with wonderful views – and it is for sale at £625,000 (01952 239500; savills.co.uk).
And think what fun you could have finding furniture to fit curved rooms.