DIY gran who rebuilt chapel
Jayne Fowler, 59, decided to buy the £155,000 property after spotting it by chance while walking past an estate agent window two years ago.
Within a week the former school administrator set to work and projectmanaged the refurbishments for the next 12 months.
She was able to draw on her carpentry skills having been taught everything – from how to work a drill to mixing cement – when she and husband Harry built a house from scratch in 1999.
Jayne now lives in the 1852 chapel in Woodyates, near Salisbury. Thanks to her it has a modern interior with a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, underfloor heating and a wood burner.
Cement
She said: “I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.
“When I got my Completion Certificate I looked at Harry’s photo and said, ‘I did it Harry!’ Harry taught me how to use power tools and then let me use them under his guidance until I was confident to use them safely on my own.
“He taught me everything, from how to mix cement, chop wood, how to cork and tape plasterboard.
“I mostly project-managed it all but helped out where I could.
“I specifically did most of the stripping out of the chapel for the first three months as I applied for a change in planning consent and had to have a bat survey done.
“I started by dismantling the interior and was knocking down walls with a sledgehammer, gutting the place until it was back to just four walls.
“I also gutted it by stripping the wall cladding, taking out the altar and taking off the ceiling tiles.
“Then when that had been done I helped out with the labouring. I used hand drills along with regular hand saw, jigsaw and chop saws.
“I hired a plumber, architect, electrician and lime mortar specialist with the more specialist tasks.
“I was in charge of mixing cement and cutting timber lengths for the builder.
“I set out the floorboards across the width of the room to figure out how they would be arranged before fastening them all down.
“After that I was tasked with the painting. It took about a year. I did have sleepless nights wondering whether I could pull it off. One of my neighbours seriously doubted me.
“But deep down I knew I could do it because I had the memories of building with Harry.
“A year later I did it. A 59-year-old widow with more determination than sense, it seems.”
Jayne, who has two children and three grandchildren, built Pear Tree Cottage in Pamber End, Hampshire, with Harry, a former civil engineering manager, in 1999.
They lived there until his death from a brain haemorrhage in 2015.
Suddenly widowed, she sold the home and bought a holiday lodge.
Rotten
But three years later Jayne saw the estate agent shop’s ad for the Ebenezer Primitive Methodist Chapel while house-sitting for a friend.
Within days she had viewed it. And 24 hours later she bought it for £155,000, starting work later that week. After spending £135,000 on renovations – including re-roofing it – her project was finished last July.
Jayne said: “After building the first house from scratch I always had an interest in properties.
“The next morning after I bought the chapel I woke up and my husband popped into my head. I thought, ‘Oh my God, Harry, what have I done?’
“But there was no going back and I didn’t have Harry to help me.
“When I first arrived it was covered in ivy and mould.
“The windows and roof timbers were rotten.
“The project did bring back memories of juggling money.
“My two daughters knew I could do it because they know my drive to succeed.
“Harry gave me the ultimate gift of giving me the confidence to take on a challenge.
“I see it as a legacy to him.”