Monday 22 August 2016

Methodists and chapels: Cumbria and South Uist

 

I was in Driffield on Saturday, admiring the work hubby's firm has done adding big screens and stuff to a Methodist chapel. It was a sort-of Open Day to showcase plans for the next stage of the build. I went for the cakes (because no-one bakes like the ladies of the church!).
I've featured several former Methodist chapels on this site in the past, and here's another. I'm not sure what it is about the Methodists but they built lovely buildings. None of that fancy Gothic/dreamy spires stuff of the Anglicans, just solid, straightforward spaces designed to feel like a home.
Take this former reading room, at Halton-Lea-Gate about seven miles from Brampton, in Cumbria. It's basically two rooms - a large hall, a kitchen, plus an entrance porch and a loo. But isn't this a lovely space?


Around 90 sq m in total, and surrounded by a decent patch of gardens.




On the market at a reasonable £80k (because you need to sort planning/change of use) via Savills. More here and here.
On the other hand, the chapel below does have planning permission in place, consequently the price is rather higher at almost £150k.


But it's also in a more rural location (about a mile-and-a-half outside Appleby-in-Westmorland) and is a prettier building (gorgeous window!).
It's basically the chapel and the porch.
The chapel is pretty much the same size as the reading room's hall, to give you an idea of the space, but beyond that I can't tell you anything because the estate agent has done a RUBBISH job of promoting it (apologies for lapse into shouty caps). No internal pictures, scant details (doesn't even say what land you get) and the photos themselves are dreadful.



See what I mean?
However, as I said, nice building and a good location.
On the market at offers around £149,950 through Cumberland Estate Agents. Link here and here.
If neither of those are quite rural enough for you, the Church of Scotland is selling this gorgeous little chapel on the island of South Uist, in Scotland's Outer Hebrides:


Iochdar Mission church is category-C listed, has limited services (only electricity) and, as with the property above, is basically a main hall and a porch.
The PDF details show the inside, but there aren't any room sizes and I'm assuming the land you get is basically what's inside that stone wall.Missions
On the market at offers over £50k, details here.