The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Aisle be there for you
ACHURCH left “bruised, battered and open to the elements” proved the perfect project for Sharon and Stuart McAllister – even though they rejected the idea first time around.
“It’s funny how things work out sometimes,” smiles Sharon, a former commercial textiles designer who is now a holistic therapist.
“My brother-in-law had spotted the church for sale and Stuart took one look at it and said, ‘Only a madman would take that on.’”
She laughs: “And here we are.” Moyness Kirk in Auldearn, near Nairn in the Highlands, had stopped being a church in 1949, and when Sharon’s brother-in-law spotted it for sale, it was being used as a grainstore and agricultural vehicle shed. Occasionally, local wildlife spotters would sit in the building to watch birds and badgers.
“He didn’t buy it, but someone else did and they took away all the agricultural bits and pieces that had been stuck on, so when it came up for sale again it did look a lot better,” she explains. “Suddenly there we were, standing in the middle of this bruised and battered building, planning to turn it into our home.”
After a comprehensive and sympathetic restoration which took around eight months, Moyness Kirk was transformed into a stunning family home. Determined not to split the windows with a first floor, they put in a mezzanine level and turned the original vestry into a sitting room.
“So many church conversions end up just being a new house built inside the existing building, so the windows are chopped in the middle, and we did not want that,” says Sharon.
“We kept the original south-facing Y-tracery arched windows to bring in natural light to the kitchen and mezzanine level, and went for a flexible layout which worked very well for our family. It is a lovely space to live in – we love the feel of the house and its peace and tranquillity.”
Moyness Kirk is a Georgian property, dating back to the early 1800s.
As you might expect in a home created by two designers, particular attention has been paid to style, and Sharon and Stuart have managed to pull off an ultra-modern interior which stills pays tasteful homage to the building’s historic roots.
Features include high ceilings, exposed stonework, oak flooring, underfloor heating and wood burning stoves and the living space is arranged over three levels.
The ground floor includes a large double bedroom with a luxurious en suite, complete with a wonderful Japanese Omi deep-soaking bath and walk-in shower.
There are three further double bedrooms on the first floor and the master bedroom suite, complete with walk-in dressing room and en suite, sits on the top floor, where the large landing is currently used as a gym.
Back on the ground floor, a door from the hallway leads into the stunning open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting area.
“We tend to spend most of our lives in the kitchen,” explains Sharon. “It made sense to make this the hub of the house and it has been a fantastic space.
“There is always someone doing their homework at the table, or making something to eat, or chatting and cooking at the end of the day. It’s a great room for entertaining too.”
The wood-burning stove sits on the spot of the original pulpit, Sharon explains.
“A few years ago, a family who had connections to one of the ministers who worked here, visited as part of a journey tracing their ancestors,” she says. “They had come from all over the
I firmly believe that people are really only ever custodians of a building
world and could show us photographs of the church and the old manse, which burned down in 1953.”
The original vestry is located off the kitchen and used as a family sitting room, with features including wood panelling and a Jotul wood burning stove. A door from this room leads to the garden.
The main staircase from the hallway leads upstairs to a magnificent landing and mezzanine which overlooks the dining kitchen below.
It’s a peaceful spot, and it helped inspire Sharon to write her book, Awakening Your Crystals. “It’s about wellbeing, and it’s interesting because design is so important to the way we live our lives,” she explains.
“Being creative, focusing on wellbeing and mental health, is something this house definitely helps you to do. We do feel lucky to have lived here.”
The couple and their three sons have lived at Moyness Kirk, which sits in pretty gardens with a south-facing courtyard, for 10 years.
“It’s been the perfect place for our boys to grow up,” says Sharon.
“We knew it was going to be challenging, taking this on, but we had an incredible team of builders and an excellent architect.
“I firmly believe that people are really only ever custodians of a building – it’s your job to look after and reinvigorate a place to save it for future generations.”
She adds: “That’s what we have done, I hope – we have honoured this building, and its place in local history.”