Converting a 19th Century Church

When Lesley and Jonathan Mercer decided they wanted to live somewhere unusual, they hadn't exactly set their hearts on a £50,000 tin shack. But the disused tabernacle in an East Yorkshire village turned out to have everything the couple were looking for: individuality, countryside views and huge potential.

"We saw this lovely church, with its beautiful proportions and steeple, and didn't really take on board the fact that it was little more than a tin shack," recalls Lesley. "Even in the rain it looked exciting, and when we looked through the windows and saw the space inside, we knew it was right."

The space inside St. Monica's Church was vast and open, with dark panelled walls and three years of dust. The alter, vestry and font were still standing, and the bell - long quiet - seemed to be waiting for a reason to celebrate. Externally, the Victorian building fared little better. Since the last service - attended by just two or three people - it had fallen foul of the elements and had rotten windows and a leaky algae-covered roof.

Built in 1882 for the grand sum of £422, St. Monica's is a timber framed building, faced externally with corrugated iron painted grey on the walls, and sheet iron painted red on the pitched roof. Internally, the walls and roof are limed with pine boarding.

Jonathan is a consultant engineer, running his own company called Design Engineering Management, and is used to large-scale challenges. He quickly realised that the Grade II listed church could be turned into a spacious family home by creating a second mezzanine floor, supported on pillars and reached by a spiral staircase. Lesley, meanwhile, was eyeing up the raised alter section as the perfect location for a top-of-the-range kitchen from which she could run her catering business, Saunts Parties and Events. "It was the answer to all our prayers!" laughs Lesley.

The couple had been living in London and commuting to Whitby at weekends to visit Jonathan's two daughters from his first marriage. Moving would halve their travelling time and offer them the unusual lifestyle they were looking for, so they bought St. Monica's in 2001 from the Diocese of York and rented a house to live in while the conversion took place.

One of the biggest issues was the fact that the church, which was erected directly onto sand, had been built on a brick sleeper wall that tapers out to the bottom, with a timber sole plate. The timber had rotted away so the walls had to be propped up and the timber replaced, two metres at a time.

Working closely with conservation officers, Lesley and Jonathan employed a builder to dismantle the two-foot-high alter step and create a mezzanine floor which is supported by padded steel posts.

All 24 windows were replaced with specifically made aluminium Gothic arches, based on a postcard dating back to 1910, which clearly showed the original design.

The tin sheeting also needed replacing, so Jonathan found a company which specialised in the original handmade methods of working. Before the exterior was re-clad, the church was fitted with Trivec house wrap insulation.

Original floor joists were salvaged where possible, the entire building was plumbed and rewired, and scaffolding was built inside the chapel so the plasterers could reach into the apex of the roof space. Then solid oak flooring was laid throughout the ground floor and the Mercers spent three days sanding down the internal wood.

Decorating and furnishing their unusual home posed its own set of challenges. With no clearly defined areas where one room begins and another ends, the Mercers decided to paint the walls white throughout, using the height and space of the building to create visual impact.

"We wanted to keep as much of the original character as possible, but to still have a contemporary feel," says Jonathan. "We brought someone in to draw up a design and he suggested having the ground floor open plan. At first we thought he must be joking - theres 111m² of floor space - but it actually makes a lot of sense." The American oak staircase in the middle creates symmetry, while the mezzanine accentuates the wonderful sense of height and space.

The couple have invested huge amounts of time, and more money than they anticipated - they went almost £50,000 over budget - to convert the neglected Victorian tabernacle into a unique four bedroom family home, but the hard work has paid off. Last year they won an award in a scheme run by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, coming top in the Build Heritage residential category. It was a fitting accolade for a couple who have thrown their hearts and souls into the conversion and restoration of one of the countys most unusual landmarks.

"There's nowhere else quite like it in this area," says Jonathan. "It's a fantastic place to live. When we set out to find somewhere a little bit different we never imagined for one minute that we would end up owning a place like this."

Further reading:

• Converting a Church
• Converting a Ruined Chapel
• Converting a Disused Church Hall