Second life
Deconsecrated churches around the country have been put to a range of interesting uses.
The unique feeling and high ceilings of old churches have created a niche market in real estate for the less conventional buildings.
Architect Malcolm Taylor bought a church in 2003, and it’s now his home as well as his architecture practice in St Heliers, Auckland.
The church was built in the 1960s, when people were more progressive about what a church could look like, Taylor said.
‘‘It was built more the way commercial buildings are built nowadays.’’
The main living space was about 6.5 metres from floor to apex, and the building had coloured glass windows with cast glass and extensive timber joinery.
‘‘Buildings that weren’t designed to be lived in and had a previous function, especially our commercial buildings, tend to have much larger spaces and I think one of the traps of modern living is that we take the minimum standard of everything,’’ he said.
Taylor said the larger space of a church was ‘‘basically one big shell’’, making it very easy to build rooms into.
Taylor bought his church when a congregation was looking for a more affordable building, with more parking, and fewer neighbours to upset with noise.
Bayleys national director John Church said many older churches were being put on the market for sale as congregations shrink, demographics change and the cost of maintaining and strengthening ageing buildings spiralled.
Some well-known deconsecrated churches have been converted into bars, cafes, galleries, music venues, apartments, and even a karate school.
Good George Brewing established its flagship brewery in the former St George’s church in Hamilton.
By 2000, its Anglican congregation had dwindled to fewer than 20 worshippers so the land and building were sold to an affordable housing group.
Good George bought the building for $383,700 in 2011.
Cambridge’s well-known Pink Church was built in 1878 and was a place of worship until 1981 when it was bought by a developer.
Gordon and Barabara Campbell spent $250,000 renovating the church in 1985, and painted it pink.
They set up a craft store and cafe in the church.
It was sold again in 2002 but the Cambridge Country Store remained as tenant until 2015.
Good George bought the building earlier this year for $1 million. The new owners repainted the outside white and turned another church into a pub, dining hall and brewery.
Radio personality Danny Watson turned the St Michael and All Angels church into a Seido karate school in Bayswater, Auckland.
He bought the former church in 2013 for $875,000, after falling churchgoer numbers and expensive repairs led to the church leaving in 2011.
The church began as an Anglican Sunday school in Devonport but was moved to Bayswater Avenue in 1910.
An old Baptist church on Hanover Street in Dunedin was built in 1912. The congregation moved to another spot in 1996, and the church became home to several nightclubs and restaurants, most recently the Monkey Bar.
The building’s new owners spent more than $500,000 refurbishing the space and have leased it to the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra.