DIVINE INSPIRATION
When John and Christina Turner stumbled upon Carnoch Church, they couldn’t resist revamping its ecclesiastical charm, says Nichola Hunter
A stunning church that has been transformed into a home, while maintaining its ecclesiastical charm
Manchester-born John, and Christina, who hails from Canada, were living in the Cotswolds when they started looking for a potential holiday home. ‘We’d recently lost out on the lighthouse buildings at Tarbat Ness,’ John explains. ‘We knew we were searching for something different and there was the idea that maybe in the long term we’d end up moving to Scotland.
‘Then one weekend in April 2014 we saw Carnoch Church online. It had been designed by engineer and architect Thomas Telford and built in the early part of the 19th century. On the Monday we phoned the estate agent who informed us that it was going to a closing date at the end of the week. On the Thursday we drove to Strathconan and viewed it. Overnight we thought about it; saw the estate agent Friday morning and by 4pm that day, we’d bought it.’
After the initial impulsiveness came the realisation – ‘What do we do now?’ asked John. ‘We have a church in the Highlands with very little in it bar a few pews. It also didn’t have proper electricity and no water supply. So, the next step was to choose an architect.’
After lining up a few appointments, the first two architects weren’t quite on the same page as Christina. Fortunately, though, it was third time lucky with Dualchas Architects.
‘It was Mary Arnold-Forster we met initially, and she spoke to both of us like human beings and shared our interest in renovating the church. Our remit was two bedrooms, and that we were able to show that it had been a church on the inside and outside. Then we asked her what she could do.’
The next 18 months were taken up with planning, listed building consent, flood surveys and even bat surveys. ‘The bat survey added about nine months to the process. We did the first survey which came back as expected. Then there had to be a gap of a month before we could do the second survey but that couldn’t be done because it was now the wrong time of year and we had to wait until the following April. In the end, we started building work towards the end of 2016 and we moved in at the end of 2017.’
The flood survey caused another hold-up in the proceedings but from a design point of view it inspired a different approach. Neil Stephen from Dualchas Architects explained that ‘there were some pragmatic things we had to do. As there was a flood risk from the neighbouring River Meig and because we were doing a change of use from a church to a house, planning dictated we had to raise the floor. It meant we had to take the floor up to the level of the windows on the front elevation which accentuated the view over the glen and brought the scale of the space down a bit.
‘The raised floor also meant we had to remove the original ceiling to create space for the upper floor rooms. This also
“The raised floor also meant we had to remove the original ceiling to create space
allowed us to open up the nave to the apex of the roof which created a dramatic central living area. The result is an interior that has retained the character of a church but is of a scale that is suitable for a family home.
‘To keep the main space simple and symmetrical, the design deliberately has two staircases. One stair hides behind the kitchen units and leads up to a study that has elevated views over the glen. The other staircase to the vestry bedroom is sculptural, and deliberately looks like an abstracted pulpit.
‘There’s always a risk in renovating a church into a home where you change its character too much – you need to retain its ecclesiastical quality whilst making it of an appropriate scale so that it can be enjoyed as a home. We hope that when people see the church in its setting, they hardly notice it has been renovated and when they enter, they are both surprised and charmed by the interiors.’
Externally, John and Christina were keen that the building should also remain true to its heritage which meant keeping and restoring the original windows. ‘We took them all out and sent them to Gairloch to be restored,’ John recalls. ‘£10,000 later, the restoration wasn’t working, and the revised budget was another £30,000. We approached the council and asked if they would accept a good copy – the same design but in modern materials. We gained an agreement that in the bedrooms and part of the living room we could fit clear glass. In the ones on the gable end, we have the astragal effect and we have the added
advantage of triple glazing in all the windows too.’
Indeed, while overall the property still retains its ecclesiastical qualities, it is a warm and cosy home with all the comforts you could ask for. ‘We decided while we were doing the project that we’d live up here as well. Coincidentally, when we were visiting the church to check on progress, we came across one of the old forestry worker’s cottages which was for sale a couple of miles away and we ended up buying that. We renovated the cottage and once the church was finished, we moved into the church and now we let the cottage instead.
‘So, what was initially going to be our holiday home, has turned into a permanent relocation. It’s been worth it. The relaxation that we get from living here and to get involved in something so creative – it has been a great opportunity.’
“The relaxation we get from living here – it has been a great opportunity