The building is a Grade II Listed church, constructed in the Victorian Gothic style by Basavi. The church had fallen into a state of decline, with a congregation too small for the building and a lack of funds for restoration and repair. Our Client was a member of the congregation. He proposed that the church be divided in two; the southern half was to be converted into a four bedroom private residence while the northern half was renovated and retained as a smaller church.
We made significant changes to the structure of the building, removing the adjoining church hall, yet retaining the entrance façade and creating a basement within the church by propping up the eight nave columns. Behind the façade of the former church hall, we created a courtyard and ‘courtyard house’ with windows facing out onto the new space. The new basement is used as extra storage room for the smaller church and a swimming pool was constructed for the use of the private residents.
The project required sensitivity to the history of the building and much attention was paid, throughout the project, to the building’s original features. We stored historic but redundant timbers in the attic space, in response to English Heritage requirements that it remain possible to easily convert the building back to its former use. We acknowledged the building’s past through the interior décor of the residential space, inter alia, inserting wooden panelling and a stone staircase. A large stained glass Rose Window was restored which now filters coloured light into the triple height living room and functions as a link between the past and present functions of the space.