Wreck of the Week

I'm in Wales today. Not actually in Wales - actually I'm in a chilly office in Stoke-on-Trent, but Wales is where I'm 'wreck' browsing. First up is the five-bed, detached former writers and artists retreat in the upper Wye Valley , above. Needs "extensive" renovation but the setting is fabulous. It comes with around two acres of land, including river access and fishing rights, with the option to buy or rent more land. The two acres is split into garden area and wooded walkways around the house and an acre of woodland on the opposite side of the A470, including bathing pool and river access: It's a weird building with pretty much everything (bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, two reception, utility) on the ground floor in either the main timber building or the extension, with a second living room stuck on top - the bit you can see in the top pic and below: It's pretty isolated - around three miles from the town of Rhayader and 30 fro...

I've been having a mare of a month - topped by hubby spending last week in hospital with pneumonia. Anyway, things are crawling back to normal so I thought I'd treat myself today. The fire's lit, I have chocolate, and I have this extraordinary property to show you - sent to me by Wreck reader India. It's pretty remote - at North Stainmore, a huddle of homes off the A66, on the border between Cumbria, North Yorkshire and County Durham, around seven miles from Kirby Stephen . It's in the district of Eden , with its wild and lovely countryside and fab walks. Having spent a couple of hours doing  a bit of online detective work, what I find weirdest about the property is the lack of information*. There's very little on the agent's site and it's not on the listed buildings register (which may explain the ugly additions). I can't find any record of it's former use in the local press (it has a patina of ex-care home); and the stripped-out fireplace...

A friend of mine is married to an artist who paints big, gorgeous and unsettling pictures. He needs space for that.  Anyhow, long-standing 'Wreck..' readers may remember they've been trying to find a former factory or similar for the family to live in and him to work in. It made me think again about people who aren't looking for my usual sort of wreck. So, today, I'm looking at former commercial properties for artists looking for an investment as well as a studio. My first two were both sent to me by 'Wreck' reader Kit (thanks again, Kit). Above and below is an extraordinary, unrenovated ex-antiques showroom and former mill/factory on Station Road, in Batley. It comes with planning permission to turn it into nine, two-bedroom flats, but you could just as easily pick a floor for yourself and develop the rest as finished flats, or sell-off floors as DIY spaces. It's Grade II-listed; there are four floors and right of way to the side and rear...

A post-auction beauty for you to daydream over today. The amazing Manna House was a tip off from Wreck reader Sean.  It's a real country pile - nine bedrooms, a gaggle of reception rooms, stables, outbuildings and a chunky 1.82 acres at Kirmond-le-Mire, around five miles from pretty Market Rasen . Manna House failed to sell at auction a couple of weeks ago - presumably because it's in a bit of a state. Massive, massive renovation job on a building architecturally important ( Lincolnshire (The Buildings of England) ) enough to have already attracted interest from council planners. It had previously been part of the Sutton family's estate (Lincolnshire landowners with a long history and £142m worth of assets ) and was sold by Sir Richard Sutton in 2008 for £225k to the Hills and their mortgage lender. I'm sure the Hills originally intended to do the place up, but it's ended up in a pretty sorry state, and was put up for auction by solicitors Wilkin Chapma...

Now don't let this become a thing, but today's property was sent to me by an estate agent. You know - those folk one step above us journalists on the 'collectives we don't like' list. But look at that picture, for goodness sake - how could I not feature it? It's an unconverted former oast house on the outskirts of pretty Plaxtol village, around six miles from Sevenoaks and three-and-a-half miles from mainline train links to London. And as if that wasn't enough to get your Grand Designs mojo going, it comes with seven acres including an active cobnut orchard and woodland. (I had to google cobnuts because I thought they were things you fed to horses (sorry, I'm a Northerner); turns out they're a tasty type of hazlenut.) Downside is the property is being advertised as land for sale without planning permission to convert to residential use. According to Carl, who sent me the details, it's failed to get planning permission to convert twice - ...

A family we know moved to mainland Orkney a few weeks ago. Upped sticks and went, just like that (well, almost). Every picture they showed us of their new home was breathtaking. So, here we are: some wrecks in the Orkneys. First up is one sent to me by Wreck regular reader Alan. He says of the Old Kirk (above), on archaeological powerhouse Rousay : "My own 'wreck' is a beautiful stone Kirk on the Isle of Rousay. Right by the water's edge and a stone's throw from a Unesco World heritage site." His plan had been to renovate it to create a holiday retreat but "life and family issues" intervened. The building is derelict and only the building and its footprint are for sale - the local authority owns the grounds, including the former kirk's graveyard. It's on the market through Drever and Heddle at offers over £35k. Details here . UPDATE: Alan has now dropped the price to £28k. Latest details on Rightmove, here . Also with Drever an...

Among the most popular posts on 'Wreck..' are ones about churches. You do love your former places of worship. So I've picked two today but I'm also going to deliver a bit of a sermon about planning permission. The first, pictured above, is St Anthony, in the hamlet of Cowley, around one-and-a-half miles from Exeter. It's currently listed on the Church of England's Closed Churches for Disposal page, which I've previously written about here . St Anthony's is Grade II listed, has a churchyard, and is on the market at offers around £150k. More details here . It's a lovely shape and in a pretty setting. However, unlike the chapel below Anthony's doesn't come with planning permission to turn it into a home. That, and the more southerly location, are responsible for the £100k difference in the price. If you were interested in St Anthony's, you'd need to start with a chat with the agent to find out what enquires have already been made...