Church hall could be heavenly home

Those who dream of creating their own "grand design" are bound to be excited by this Victorian church hall in one of North Yorkshire’s prettiest villages. It's up for sale and has planning consent to convert it into a three-bedroom house.

The parish church, which owns the hall, is seeking offers over £200,000 for the grade II listed building in the village of Felixkirk, near Thirsk. The property, which served as the village school from 1835 until 1934, before becoming a community venue.

Crispin Pettifer, treasurer of the parochial church council, said: “The church hall remains very close to the heart of the community buts its use as a public amenity just isn’t financially or practically viable any more. Not only have other more modern halls in nearby villages, such as Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, become more popular for community activities within the parish, but Felixkirk’s pub, the renowned Carpenters Arms now hosts some of the gatherings that used to take place in the church hall, and in far more comfortable surroundings.”

Mr Pettifer added: “Nevertheless, the hall is a fantastic building and we are really pleased that, by offering it for sale as a private residence, we will be giving it a new lease of life.”

Felixkirk church hall has planning consent to convert its layout into a two-storey house with three bedrooms, a garden and parking after Hambleton District Council's planning committee agreed the best way to preserve the building would be to allow it to be converted into a home.

Toby Cockcroft, director of York estate agency Croft Residential which is marketing the property, said: “Felixkirk is a gorgeous village set in some of Yorkshire’s finest countryside, yet it’s also just four miles from main line train connections in Thirsk and consequently just over two hours from London or Edinburgh.

“While converting the church hall to a house will certainly be an interesting project for whoever buys the building, it will create a unique and immensely characterful property that would be equally fantastic as a main house or as a country retreat.”

For further details of Felixkirk Church Hall, contact Toby Cockcroft at www.CroftResidential.co.uk or tel: 01904 238222.