Couple's religious conversion

"I don't know who was more surprised me or her. She looked horrified and just said: 'This isn't a church anymore is it?' says Andrew. It's not the first time would-be worshippers have walked into the property expecting to see the vicar, which is something of a compliment.

Even though Andrew and wife Charlotte have divided and extended the original building and created dormer windows, the exterior retains its original integrity. The couple, who grew up in the area, bought the Church of England property in Norwood Green, near Halifax, five years ago.

Built in 1907, it was declared redundant and its congregation amalgamated with a church nearby.

Fortunately it didn't have a graveyard, so the surrounding land has made a perfect garden and play space for the Mears' children, Hermione, four, and Benjamin, six.

Although Andrew has worked in property all his life with the family investment firm, he had never tackled a project like this and it proved an interesting challenge. Planning permission wasn't a problem and they were able to split the building into two parts. The larger part and the new extension is their home and the other side is a rented "cottage". Inside, the cavernous interior has been carved up into rooms and a first floor created with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a study.

"It wasn't in bad condition when we got it but we had to put a new roof on and we had to do a lot of research into church conversions. We put a lot of effort into making it look right," says Andrew.

"We wanted the dormers and the extension to blend with the original building, so we got a stone mason to make window arches and preserved as many features as we could."

The conversion took just over a year and inside it looks more like a modern home with a few ecclesiastical features, rather than a conversion that still feels overwhelmingly like a place of worship. That's exactly what they wanted.

"We were lucky. It had no great big stained glass windows with biblical scenes staring down at us. I wouldn't have wanted to live with that day to day," says Charlotte, an ophthalmologist.

But some reminders of its spiritual past, including the old bell rope and bells, have proved very useful. The rope hangs at the bottom of the staircase and Charlotte regularly rings the bells to call Andrew and the children in at tea time. The original organ, that the Church failed to find a home for, was also welcome for a while. "Me and the builders had some fun playing on that while we were doing the conversion," says Andrew. "We couldn't keep it but I couldn't bear to break it up and I eventually found an organ enthusiast who was willing to take it."

Other features, including the panelling in the dining room and ecclesiastical arches, have been integrated into the interior design, along with a raft of eco friendly elements. The Mears installed insulation where possible and used low- energy LED spotlights, which are far more efficient than halogen.

Andrew also fitted solar panels to the roof to give hot water and added a set of photovoltaic panels to the garden summerhouse that convert sunlight into electricity for the house.

The PV panels supply at least a third of the family's electricity needs. These renewables were important to Andrew, who has a keen interest in green energy generation.

He is installing it in his company's commercial and residential properties and is preparing to switch on a hydro electric generator at the Cornmill in Skipton. His family has owned the mill, which houses shops and offices, for many years, but Andrew has restored the old waterwheel and installed a turbine.

Using his knowledge and experience he has also opened the Let's Live Green advice centre in Skipton. "Green energy is the future, but there is a lot of confusion about it. I've fitted the shop out to help explain exactly what they do and about grants and feed-in tariffs. I don't sell the renewables but I recommend reputable suppliers. It's been an interesting experience and I'd really like to take it further and expand the concept. I think there's a great need for good advice, especially when it comes to retro-fitting solar and PV panels into people's homes."

His own energy generation at home has led to a healthy interest in consumption and he has installed a monitor in the hallway. "It's great but Andrew is constantly checking it. He'll come in and run round switching everything off," says Charlotte.

Andrew's advice shop: 2, Albert Terrace, Skipton, tel: 01756 798353, www.letslivegreen.co.uk

Making a church a home...

Property cost: 250,000 (Dec 2005)

Build cost: 160,000

Total cost: 410,000

Cost per square metre: 1,380

VAT reclaimed: 3,109

Build time: 64 weeks

Current value of the property: 750,000

Favourite feature:

"Driving up the drive seeing the beautiful building, then going inside seeing all the original internal timber and stone features"

YP MAG 7/8/10