Chapel Conversions Escape to the Country

Welcome to a very special edition of Escape To The Country.

Today, I'm in a city that's been home to one of our most important ports since the 12th century.

We're not embarking on a journey across the oceans, rather more of a spiritual trip

as we take another look at some of the very best chapel conversions we've had on the show.

'In today's show we take a look back at a selection of favourite chapel conversions from previous shows...

'where a former Welsh chapel causes some indecision.'

I don't know whether to laugh, cry or pray!

'A master bedroom reveals a masterpiece of stained glass.'

Oh God.

Well, indeed!

'And we see how you can never judge a book by its cover with a Victorian chapel in Yorkshire.'

Whoa!

Oh, my goodness.

That is pretty special, isn't it?

Plus, I get to grips with what it takes to create the chapel effect in your own home

with a kaleidoscope of colours.

Today, I'm in Bristol, capital of the South West.

This once grand, now sadly crumbling, building is the first cathedral in the UK

to have been deconsecrated with plans to turn it into luxury apartments.

It's an extraordinary project that is now about to begin.

I can't wait to get inside and see what they've got planned.

The men responsible for making it happen are over here, Andrew and John. Andrew, you're the architect.

How do you start to turn this huge cavernous volume into a modern building?

Obviously, it's listed so you need to be sensitive in your approach,

and we would always try

and touch the existing fabric as lightly as possible.

If we come back here when it's finished, will we still recognise it as the cathedral as it once was?

I think so. We'll insert the apartments down the central space in between the columns,

keeping these four high spaces either side which we're going to open the roof up and let natural light in.

How much of a task will this be?

A fantastic challenge.

It's everything you want as a contractor.

We're not taking it lightly, we're doing extensive research, you have to plan very meticulously.

Thank you very much, guys. We wish you all the best of luck

with what I'm sure will be a fantastic project.

Whether you can afford a cathedral, an abbey or fancy a little old church spire,

stick with us on Escape To The Country

as we explore all there is to know about chapel conversions.

Chapel conversions have given us some of the quirkiest homes on Escape To The Country.

For those looking for real character and country charm,

an old chapel could be the perfect place to live.

The most exciting thing about chapel conversions is that they provide an interior space

which can provide period features with an ultra-modern finish to amazing effect.

Of course, chapels will often come with graveyards but if those aren't the neighbours you're after,

you could go for a Methodist chapel which, generally speaking, don't have graveyards attached.

Over the years, we've seen some truly fantastic chapel conversions on Escape To The Country

that really have made the best use of the space available.

Picking the best of the best really has been something of a challenge.

But we're going to start today with an example from West Wales.

Sue and Alan were looking for a three bedroom property, with a large garden, and nice high ceilings -

Alan, after all, was 6'2" tall - and all for a budget of £300,000.

Now, when we started our house tour a chapel conversion certainly wasn't on their list of requirements,

but by the time we got to the mystery house,

all of those preconceptions were thrown out of the window.

Here's what happened.

'And this gem of a property was to be found in Pentregat.

'It's just five minutes from Llandgwydd,

'a seaside village in a narrow valley on the coast of Ceredigion,

'and has all the elements that conspire to make it a tourist hot spot in the summer.'

Now, I don't know how religious the pair of you are,

-or how often you go to church or to chapel.

-Right.

If you have any of that disposition at all...

There's no excuse for not saying your prayers here!

It's certainly got the oh-my-God factor, hasn't it?

Good one, Alan! This chapel is a bit of a risk on my behalf,

as it's the type of property that either makes you run a mile or you completely fall in love with it.

'I'm hoping for the latter.'

What about that for an entrance hall?

-I kind of feel like we should have a butler in here to greet you.

-Yeah. Yeah.

I don't know whether to laugh, cry or pray!

Let's start with the living room.

Go through that door there.

-OK.

-And tell me what you think of that.

Look at that.

Beautiful fireplace.

Lots of light as well.

-I was expecting it to be darker actually.

-Yeah. I was concerned.

But no, it's fantastic.

This is nice.

-I think this is lovely.

-It's nice. It's wonderful.

Huge family dining area.

And it does turn it from a chapel into a home.

Yes. Absolutely.

I'm glad that went down well.

But, there's plenty more to the downstairs, including a study and a family bathroom,

as well as the kitchen.

This...this is good.

You're not sure, are you?

-Just a bit small, I think, for what I had in mind as a sort of Escape To The Country-type kitchen.

-Yes.

But we're in a chapel anyway, this is not what we were expecting.

The whole thing is not what we were expecting!

Bear with me. Stay with me. Don't give up!

'At the top of the stairs on either side are two double bedrooms with feature stained glass windows,

'and one also sports an en suite, but it's now time to reveal the piece de resistance.'

Your master bedroom.

Come in, come in, to your very own private domain.

-Wow. Yeah.

-This is another wow.

-I said I wouldn't let you down. Also...

-Come on, Jules.

We have your en suite that you so desperately wanted.

-I'm scared to go in now!

-Another en suite?

Another en suite, but this is all for you.

Look at this.

'Sue is loving this chapel conversion.

'There's also a boarded attic space that needs to be utilised,

'and a garden that I know will receive heaps of praise from Alan.'

This is a football pitch!

-It's a good excuse for you to invest in a big boy's toy. Get yourself a nice...

-Tractor.

-Ride-on mower in here and keep it all under control.

-Yeah.

So...

Don't ask me!

Sue, I'll ask you.

I want to say over £400,000.

£400,000.

If I said that we wouldn't be here looking.

350.

350?

But I don't think I do that justice in the price.

Not a bad guess. Properties like this do go for that sort of money.

The good news...

..is that you could afford this place.

-Really?

-This is on the market for just under £300,000.

What's wrong with it?

I've kind of...

Although it's a lovely place, I kind of dismissed it because I didn't believe we could afford it.

The chapel...

is wonderful. It's huge.

Loads and loads of space.

I began this experience

with a pretty firm idea of what I thought I wanted and needed.

This house has completely blown that sky high.

Well. Happy faces, I like.

Slightly confused, I suspect.

Yeah. Incredibly confused.

-Yeah.

-Messed heads.

Perhaps one of the most prominent features of many church and chapel conversions

is this stuff, stained glass.

Whether you fancy restoring some, or creating some of your own,

you may be surprised to learn it's not as hard as you think.

Eddie here from the Creative Glass Guild will show me how it's done. It looks very difficult.

Not as hard as you might think, Jules.

I think even you might be able to have a go at putting something together.

-Where do we start?

-Picking some glass would be a good place to start.

Lead on.

'And there's certainly a lot of glass to choose from.

'Having started in 1979,

'the Creative Glass Guild is now one of the biggest stain glass producers in Europe.

'They promote all types of glass, art and education,

'including glass restoration for sympathetic replacement in listed buildings.'

If you're thinking about restoration of some sort, then this would be what you might use.

As you can see, it has a lot of movement in it, it's not perfectly flat.

That sort of mimics what an old sheet of glass would look like.

Obviously this isn't stained.

But that would just be a...

The obvious point is that much glass today is coloured as it's made, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Whereas original stained glass would have been stained,

it would have started off clear and then coloured later?

Yeah, it would have been clear or tinted and then painted on to.

A nice piece to start with.

Let's go and make something.

Here we go. This is the workshop.

-Brilliant.

-This is where we put this panel together.

What are we going to try and make - is this the plan?

This is the plan. This is a cartoon of a basic diamond window.

We have blue glass here?

Yeah. This is Bristol blue glass. What a lot of people know as Bristol blue glass.

It's cobalt blue, but it was used to make all of the kind of blown glass objects, decanters and bottles.

-Bottles and so forth. We couldn't be in Bristol and not touch Bristol blue.

-There you go.

What are we going to use the blue for? Is that going around the edge?

That's for the border to introduce some colour.

-OK.

-And then the restoration glass will go in the middle here.

Nice. What are we going to start with?

We should start by cutting the glass.

'I have to admit by being a bit worried,

'as glass doesn't seem to be the most forgiving material to work with.'

-Perfect.

-Enough?

Easier than I thought it might be.

'This is all looking rather too easy.'

Oh. Now, that's a major error.

You went off course a little bit there.

I knew that was going to happen.

'Luckily, Eddie tells me there is a margin for error,

'and apparently medieval craftsmen weren't always accurate either.'

-That's my version of your blue border.

-Let's have a look.

-A bit of quality control.

-Yes, indeed.

It's not bad for your first go.

'I've passed the first test but, with the Bristol blue border done,

'let's hope my teacher is as forgiving as we move on to the clear restoration glass.'

Now all the pieces of glass are cut, we need to put down a frame to hold all of the elements together.

It keeps it square, really.

It gives you something to push it all together against.

'Eddie explains that the lead is specially shaped to fit snugly around the glass on both sides,

'and because it's very soft, it fits almost any shape, and it's easily sliced with a lead cutting tool.

'It's one of the beauties of this very malleable material.'

But despite the fact it's newly-produced lead,

it comes with all the hazards that lead has always had, presumably?

Yes. You have to be careful when you're using it. You have to wash your hands a lot.

It won't make its way through your skin and into your bloodstream like this.

But if you were to ingest it, that where you would get in trouble.

'Now this jigsaw of glass and lead has been assembled,

'it's time to fuse all of the joints today with a soldering iron,

'another skill I haven't yet mastered.'

-It's more fiddly than you think, isn't it?

-Yes.

Oh my goodness me, I have made a bit of a hash of that.

I don't think I would have got a job on Westminster Abbey!

No, possibly not.

'Thanks, Eddie. Nothing like a bit of flattery.

'But I'm sure he's right. Maybe it's best to let him finish it off.'

Very neat.

Very neat. You are using the edge of the iron which is clearly a top tip.

'Finally, I think it's done.'

The moment of truth. Pick it up.

It's not falling apart.

-There you go.

-Brilliant, Eddie.

-Yeah.

-Well done. That's absolutely fantastic.

My own bit of stained glass.

-Good job.

-You were absolutely right, it is easier than it looks.

Do you think that would work in a chapel?

-I'm sure it could work in a chapel, yeah.

-Believe it or not, chapel conversions aren't for everybody.

Down in Somerset, Jeanette and John had £450,000 to spend

and we were pretty sure that John, being the son of a vicar, would really go for it,

particularly as it did contain some wonderful stained glass.

'The village I took them to was in Seavington St Mary, just a few miles from Illminster.

'The church is at the centre of this hamlet in a beautiful peaceful setting.

'Although I knew John wouldn't mind, Jeanette said she wasn't keen on chapels.

'But as this was such a beautiful conversion, I was hoping I could change her mind.'

Have a little look at this.

Now, as I recall,

-one thing you weren't interested in were converted chapels?

-Yes.

Which is why I've brought to you a converted chapel!

Because this isn't just any old chapel.

I'm hoping I might convert you to the idea because it has been really beautifully done.

The good news is that there are no graves and no ghosts that anyone knows of.

OK. All right.

-Be open minded?

-I'll try.

-Come on.

She never has been before!

Given what I have learned about John and Jeanette,

'this house is a real wild card, but it has all of the accommodation they're looking for.

'Here's hoping I may have got it right.'

Kitchen diner you wanted, kitchen diner I have got you. What about this one?

It looks like a tearoom, doesn't it?

-It does look like a tearoom. It has that summer feel, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

As you can see, recently refurbished to a really high standard.

Absolutely.

This is what...I'm not sure how to pitch this house to you,

because this doesn't need anything doing to it.

You don't need to pick up a screwdriver or a paint brush or lay any carpets or anything.

-All you have to do is move in.

-Yes. I can see that.

'I was really hoping that this would be a selling point, but they don't seem too impressed.

'Let's hope the separate dining room will take their fancy.'

I know you said you didn't really need a separate dining room.

-But I've got you one anyway.

-Yes.

-It's very nice.

Beneath this rug is great parquet flooring which leads us through to the main living room.

The main living room.

-Yeah. It's nice.

-It's big.

A big span of ceiling space, this.

I mean, you're being very polite about all of this, but I'm not sure it's really grabbing you, somehow?

Er...

I don't know yet.

I think I'm not sure myself.

-OK. John?

-Well, I'm always very amenable to a bit of chapel.

It's a building that is very unique. It's certainly a place you would remember.

The next thing is to go upstairs and see if that grabs you.

'There is a chance that I might be able to persuade John that this could be the right property,

'but I'm not sure I'm going to win over Jeanette.'

-This is roomy, isn't it?

-It's a nice room.

Of all of the properties I have shown you, this house has the best bedrooms.

-Absolutely.

-This is a great master bedroom.

It looks terrific and beautiful views over the fields.

-Suppose I told you this wasn't the master?

-OK.

How about that?

This is currently a guest room.

-If the next one is bigger than this, wow!

-You get these lovely roof beams that are original.

This isn't the only bedroom. Have a look through here.

'Along the landing are a modern family bathroom and a small single bedroom

'which is currently used as a study.

'Opposite there is another double guest room, but wait until you see the master.'

-Oh, God.

-Indeed!

-Oh, yes.

-I don't think this really needs any explanation.

-No.

-It's a very good window. You pay a lot for one like that, I think.

It's a brilliant window. Lovely. It is nice actually.

-It's great. It's fantastic.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-I didn't think you'd like that?

It doesn't look ecclesiastical, it looks like a designer window.

-It doesn't look ecclesiastical?

-No, I don't think so.

No crosses and virgins and all that sort of stuff in there.

It's very...yes, it's nice.

When the sun comes in, you've got all these different lights.

'Another feature of note is that this bedroom also comes with a handy en suite.

'But it's time to see what Jeanette and John make of the outside.'

Come out of these French doors.

We can start to explore the garden.

There's this nice turfed area here.

It's a very formal garden here but very low maintenance, that's what is so good about it.

This gravel and a nice patio area over here. It's a bit of everything.

Have a look over here.

As you can probably now get the feel, this garden is sort of divided up into lots of little rooms.

I mean another lawned area here, probably the main lawn,

and through there, you have another gravelled area.

How much do you think it's worth?

-I'd say 500.

-500.

You are saying half a million, you're saying 450 on your budget.

Supposing it was £460,000.

-I'm surprised.

-Would it be of interest?

I was thinking how much they were charging, but not how much it was worth to me.

It is worth £460,000.

That's what it's on the market for.

You could walk in tomorrow,

and you don't have to pick up a paintbrush, a hammer.

-I know!

-Or re-carpet it or anything, just walk in.

-That's true.

-No, thank you?

-No, thank you.

-I've tried really hard with this place.

I thought it was perfect.

It is perfect for someone else.

Perfect for someone else...

I can see the battle to try and win your hearts over with this place is one I've probably lost, in fairness.

I don't think there's in point in wasting your time by saying go and have another look,

because you've made your minds up.

I'm afraid so.

Now, as I'm sure you will agree, we have reviewed some wonderful properties

over the course of this programme.

But no surprise we are saving the very best until last.

Where better to introduce it than outside Bristol's very own, very big and very beautiful cathedral.

Some time ago we took two young doctors, Sam and George,

up to West Yorkshire armed with a healthy budget of £700,000.

For that, they were looking for a nice spacious home they could entertain in,

with at least three bedrooms,

and husband George was after about an acre of land to undertake a bit of hobby farming.

Of course, we took them to a chapel, but boy, what a building.

'For this next house, I took George and Sam to the pretty conservation village of Mill Bank,

'five miles from Halifax and a 30-minute commute from Leeds.

'Hovering on the side of the wooded Ryburn Valley above Ripenden,

'this delightful village's surprise feature is that it has its own award-winning gastropub.

'It was time to find out if I was on to a winner with our next offering.'

You've moved, you've got money in the bank.

You need a place to live?

-Yes.

-This could be it.

I thought we'd start with the land.

If there's no land with it, George, you won't be interested?

-That's true.

-You wanted an acre or so.

There is an acre or so.

-Wow. Is this it?

-This is it. Is that the sort of thing you had in mind?

-Yeah. That's just great, isn't it.

-The land's all right?

-Perfect.

I want to get the land thing out of the way,

because I want all of your attention for the property I'm going to show you,

which is quite extraordinary.

'It is a real find, and certainly has the wow factor.'

-This is what I want you to feast your eyes upon.

-Wow.

It's massive.

It's absolutely enormous. Any ideas as to what it is?

-No.

-A school, maybe?

-Actually, it's a converted Methodist chapel.

-Wow.

-Could you ever have imagined you would be looking at a place like this?

-No.

-Is it too much?

-We'll see.

It looks great from the outside, doesn't it? It looks fun.

-Is it going to be for you, I wonder?

-Well, we already know the land's pretty good.

-Yep.

-So I suppose we will find out when we go inside.

-Come on then.

-Wow.

-Whoa.

-Oh, my goodness.

-Come on in, George.

Don't be shy.

Oh, my goodness.

That is pretty special, isn't it?

That is so cool.

You don't expect it, do you, from the outside.

-It couldn't be more different, could it?

-No.

Wow. The spiral staircase is very cool.

-This is a pukka white canvas to play with.

-A real pad, isn't it?

You're young groovers, you're 27, it's a young person's home, this.

-Wicked.

-Yeah.

-It goes right up, can you see the beams up there?

-They're beautiful as well.

-Good.

Let's have a look at the kitchen.

Come through here and look at these toughened glass doors.

Have a look at that. That is...

-Whoa, really cool.

-Yeah, it's a really good kitchen.

You've also got lovely slate floor running throughout.

You have a kitchen-diner area and a cosy snug area down there.

Look at this. You're going to love this bit.

-Look up there.

-Wow.

That is special toughened glass.

That's part of the floor upstairs.

It's beautiful, isn't it? It works so well.

-The whole place feels so cool.

-Yeah.

What do you think of this? What a way to go to bed up here.

It's an amazing staircase.

What about the view?

Wow.

Don't know where to look.

Can you take it all in, I wonder?

-It's just incredible.

-Yeah.

'Just off the spacious landing is the bathroom,

'which retains the original parquet from the chapel floor.

'Off the bathroom is the first of five bedrooms.'

Now, come in here.

-This is...

-A whole other house?

It is, isn't it?

At the moment, technically, it's the kind of sitting room for the master bedroom, if that makes sense.

-Yes.

-You're in the master bedroom wing.

-Right.

-Or end of the property.

But, yeah, it's pretty special.

It's amazing.

-Sam, you're very quiet?

-It's beautiful. It's really nice.

There are so many rooms I wouldn't know what to do with them all.

You would have plenty of time to figure it out.

Is this working for you?

-It is, yeah.

-In there.

Wow, an en suite.

Really lovely. Amazing bath.

Isn't it great? A huge wet room with three showers in it.

-Triple shower.

-Triple shower.

This is interesting in here because you get a sense of what colour does to this building.

I think these really lovely earthy neutral colours...

-Very warm in here.

-Very warm.

If you can imagine some of that going in downstairs.

It would really soften the white a lot.

Definitely.

'In this architecturally ingenious renovation, there are a further three bedrooms.

'One is a single, the other two are for children and there is a huge play area next door.'

Just watch yourselves on the steps, there is no rail.

'Wait until they see the views from up here, another flights of stairs takes us to the master bedroom.'

OK.

How about being up here?

Really nice. Very unusual isn't it?

-Beautiful.

-Really unusual.

-The lighting's quite interesting.

-It's like light...

-Light from the panels.

-Yes.

Let's go back downstairs to the main entrance hall

and have a think about how much it's going to cost you.

-I hate to think.

-Come on.

Now, would you like to live in a place like this?

Yes!

Are you going to take a bit of persuading, Sam, do you think?

-I just need a bit of time to think about it and see the local area and things like that.

-Sure.

£700,000 is your budget. Is that the maximum, maximum you could go to?

We might be able to push up for the right place.

I suspect we would have to for here.

You have your acre as well at the back which is all part of it too.

A great location. So...

Put you on the spot, Sam.

I'd say 760.

-I'm going to guess 850, 900.

-850?

If it was 850, would you be utterly distraught?

-Erm...

-Yeah, because we couldn't afford it.

-Yeah!

OK. You don't have to be distraught.

-Wow.

-I might just put a smile on your face and take the pressure off your concerns a bit.

It's on the market for...

..695.

Whoa! Amazing. I'm really surprised by that, I have to say.

It's a pretty competitive price for here.

It's style, it's scope...

It's great. We are close to Leeds.

We're in the countryside but it feels like city living inside.

I can't see many downsides apart from we might struggle to fill it initially.

Go away and have a wander around and see how you would fill it,

What you'd put in it, where you'd live and the space you'd use.

I will come and find you later, if I don't get lost myself.

Go on, go and check it out.

It no way has that country feel.

But it gives us a completely different angle to work from.

It's a lot of fun.

You get this country feel from the outside and this imposing house.

Inside, it's sort of ultra-modern, loft living environment,

with what has to be the best room to throw a party!

-We might struggle to use it all.

-I totally didn't expect it.

I didn't even think that there was houses like this in West Yorkshire that were so modern inside.

From one glorious example of style and engineering to another, Brunel's bridge here in Bristol.

Sadly, Sam and George felt that the chapel was going to be a little bit too big for them,

despite the fact they could certainly afford it.

But it was a remarkable opportunity to take a look around a truly stunning conversion.

Sadly, that's it from me today here in Bristol.

I do hope our trip down memory lane has inspired to you undertake your own escape to the country,

and who knows, maybe even a chapel conversion.

I'll see you next time.

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