House - Anglesey, Wales

This is rather sweet. A big, tired, detached country house on the Isle of Anglesey
Upstairs are four good-sized bedrooms, plus two boxrooms (en-suite potential?), a narrow dressing room and the bathroom.
Downstairs are three reception rooms, a large kitchen, walk-in larder and a downstairs loo. That box porch above leads into this lovely hall:

The rooms are weary rather than wrecked - stripping out those fireplaces and going all Victorian on the decor would be doing the house a favour.

(Meals on wheels or welshcakes under that teatowel...?)

Outside are neat gardens, a small paddock and stone sheds, with lovely open countryside views.

It's on the market at £265k through Morgan Evans. Details here.

Cambridgeshire renovation project

Going a little off-topic today to share with you the project story of Wreck readers Sarah and Jonathan.
They bought the cottages in Haddenham, above, that I featured last March. In my original post I wrote that there was lot of work to be done to turn the three cottages into one home but it "could be a great project in a very pretty area of Cambridgeshire". This was part of the challenge:

Anyhow, about a week ago I got this lovely email from Sarah:

I thought that you may be interested to know that we bought 28 Church Lane, Haddenham, after seeing the property on your blog. We were looking for a renovation project to get us out of London and into country life and frequently read your blog. When we saw it, we wanted it.
We got held up in probate for the entire of that glorious summer (the owner sadly passed away in the middle of the buying process) but finally owned it in August and work started in mid September.
We are now mid-renovation and are turning the three cottages into two 3 bed houses. We took down the old lean-tos on the back as they were totally ruined. Upstairs we found papers from 1942 on the floor and think that we were the first people up there in decades. There was also a large cellar that no one knew about. And a structural chair holding up most of the outbuildings.
I could talk about the project for hours but I am a house bore these days. Mainly I wanted to let you know that it was your website that linked us to this wonderful house.

They hope to be watertight by early Feb and to finish the first house in April. In the meantime, here are a few photos from their build in progress:

 

The floor needed to be lowered!

PS: Want to know what else is worth a look in the same area? This four-bed detached is in Manea, around six miles from Haddenham:

It has a river to the front, a third of an acre of garden at the back, outbuildings and needs a full refurb (I'd ask about flooding). It's on the market at £180k through Maxey Grounds. Details and more pix here.

Non-houses in Plymouth and Devon

After my post about schools for sale, I thought I'd get even more exotic today with some unusual non-houses on the market.
First the warehouse above, overlooking Sutton Harbour, in Plymouth. One of two properties sent to me by Byron, from the agents selling it.
He emailed:

The property has been in the same family ownership since being built in the 17^th Century as a warehouse to service visiting navy ships. A use which it is currently still used for, however with modern 24 hour deliveries there is no longer a need to have quite such a large building or to be so close to the sea thanks to the invention of the motor vehicle. 

Damn those motor vehicles!
It's a big building - almost 7,000sqft of space over three floors, so options for living above the shop - or restaurant, or bar ...

Built in 1847, the warehouse is Grade II listed with lots of original features and within the Barbican conservation area. It's POA, which could mean £gadzillions or something more reasonable - pdf details here.
Stratton Creber Commercial also have the former archive facility, below, for sale - within the redeveloped site of a Royal Navy hospital:

The Millfields, a mile or so outside Plymouth, was built in 1756 to an innovative open-plan design of eleven hospital buildings linked by colonnades in the hope that fresh air would chase away disease. A high wall and guards kept the sick sailors - including pressed men - inside.
The wall and 24-hr security has stayed as a feature of the gated complex, now redeveloped as residential and commercial spaces:

The former archive, Dudding Court, offers 10,600 sq ft of space over two floors and a basement, split into small rooms. It's on the market at £250k, pdf details here.
While we're in Plymouth, I thought I'd have a look at what else is up for sale. There's not a great deal on the City Council's property list (here) as I type, but worth checking back on. The former hostel, below, is worth a look if you're in the market for something big.

Originally a school, built in 1882, it has over 900 sqm across three floors, plus gardens and parking area, and has been designated for residential development. Offers by midnight, February 28th. PDF details here.
Finally, if you're more interested in properties outside Plymouth, Devon County Council property sales are handled by NPS group (Exeter office).
Not a lot available right now but, I did like this former school, in a lovely rural location a couple of miles from the village of Ashwater:

Over 2,300sqft in the main, two storey building, plus temporary classrooms, outbuildings, play areas and gardens. It's on the market at offers around £275k. PDF details here.

Former schools - Carmarthenshire and Gloucestershire

The kids went back to school this week and, in celebration, I've picked three former schools to show you.
The first is among a batch of village primary schools being sold off by Carmarthenshire County Council (more here).
Rhydcymmerau Primary school, above and below, is my favouite. Around 1000sqft of space, (broken up as basically two big rooms plus kitchen and cloakroom) with a good sized, fenced playground, garden area and a tired-looking mobile classroom.

It's on the market through Evans Bros at £95k - details and more pics here and pdf here. Rhydcymerau is a tiny Welsh village - too small for a website but big enough for a rather fine poem:

I also liked the schoolhouse below, at Pencader. On the market at offers around £89,500 through John Francis:

But could I find it on John Francis's website? - could I flippery!! May mean it's already sold but anyway the pdf is here and you could always ask Hywel.
Finally,  Christchurch school rooms, below, in Gloucestershire. There's a deadline on this one of offers over £90k by noon on January 27th.
Christchurch is in the Forest of Dean, around a mile or so from the market town of Coleford.

No internal pics on the website, but it's a gorgeous shape and there's almost 3,500sqft of space, broken up into five classrooms, kitchen, toilets and the large school hall. More details here.

Churchy buildings - East Sussex and Lincolnshire

Well, thank frack 2013's over! Regular readers will know it wasn't great for me* but a lot of people have had a lot worse. Anyway, it's done and a Happy New Year of house hunting/dreaming to all of us!
To kick the year off sharpish, I've got two church-ish properties with buying deadlines.
First up, the beautiful building above and below, at Forest Row, in East Sussex.

It isn't listed, it isn't on consecrated ground, and it doesn't have pre-existing planning approval - two of which would have have pushed up the guide price and any of the three which would have limited what you could do.
The downside, which you'll have noticed if you looked just below that fabulous red-leaved tree, is that it backs onto a cemetery - those wooden gates are its entrance.
The building is in the East Sussex village of Forest Row, around three miles from East Grinstead and about 12 from Tonbridge Wells.
It's a lovely shape and there are some gorgeous original features.

Cemetery building is up for sale by informal tender at offers around £100k through Howard Cundy, with a deadline of Valentine's Day. Details here.
Next is the former chapel, below, sent to me by Wreck reader Sean. Not quite as pretty, and mostly stripped of its original features, but a handsome building.

It's at Sibsey Northlands, around a mile from the Lincolnshire village of Sibsey, and around five from Boston.
There are no internal pix for me to show you (annoying I know), but it stands on a small plot of land and comes with planning permission to turn it into a two/three bed home.
The chapel is up for auction on January 30th, through Bruce Mather. Details here.


* I lost my father, both our greyhounds, and almost my husband. Thank you again to everyone who sent me emails afterwards.