Rooms with a pew... church for sale as home
AS DREAM homes go, this 700-yearold former church is heaven-sent.
But there’s just one snag for house hunters – they might have to forget about a long lie-in on Sundays.
Planners are insisting that the chancel must be kept for public worship or community use.
The former parish church of St Andrew’s in the village of Mickfield, in Suffolk, was built in the 14th century and used for services until 1977.
The stone and flint building is on sale, described as a three-bedroom detached house with offers invited in excess of £400,000.
There is permission to turn part of the Grade I-listed building into a home with plans for a sitting room, kitchen, bathroom and study, with bedrooms in the tower.
It still boasts many of its original features such as arches, leaded windows, beams, carved stone corbels and memorial brasses dating from the 17th century.
Agents David Burr describe the building as a “medieval marvel offering huge potential”.
Standing in partly-wooded grounds which include a cemetery where the last burial was more than 100 years ago, the agents say the building, which already has a kitchen and some furnished living space, would lend itself to several uses including a home, a retreat or a conference centre.
A source said: “You would need to embark on an extensive programme to convert it because it’s used as a meeting room at the moment. It’s not been used as a permanent dwelling.”
A spokesman for the agents said there has been plenty of interest since it came on the market and several potential buyers have arranged viewings.
Over the years the church fell into disrepair but in 2004 Suffolk Architectural Heritage Trust restored the building and enabled it to be used for worship and community meetings.