Inside the Methodist chapel which has become a heavenly home

This Methodist chapel is a great lesson in how to turn an ecclesiastical property into a heavenly home. Sharon Dale reports. Pictures by Gary Longbottom.
The mezzanine corridor with gothic doorsThe mezzanine corridor with gothic doors
The mezzanine corridor with gothic doors

Church and chapel conversions are notoriously difficult to get right. Stripping out too many features, leaving too many in, carving up spaces badly and cutting windows in half with new floors are all pitfalls in the perilous journey from ecclesiastical property to residential dwelling.

Thanks to an eye for design and a lot of effort, John Hawkins has managed to make a beautiful family home that pays tribute to his property’s previous life as a place of worship.

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A great deal of respect has been shown at the front of the chapel in Westow, near Malton, which looks much as it did when it was built. The only clues to its new use are the skylight windows and the front door painted in fashionable Farrow & Ball.

The mezzanine corridor with gothic doorsThe mezzanine corridor with gothic doors
The mezzanine corridor with gothic doors

The rear makes no apologies for looking like an exceptionally pretty cottage, although some of the new additions, including the arched windows on the conservatory, echo the original architecture.

“The gothic arches are a big feature and something I copied when creating the new door frames and doors,” says John, who owns Specialist Cars of Malton, which deals in Porsches.

He bought the property 20 years ago and was hands-on with the project, as well as employing specialist craftsmen.

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The open-plan interior was divided to create a double-height hallway and corridor leading to a shower room. The large living space was given a split level to create interest and stairs were placed at the end with care so they don’t intrude on the beautiful stained glass window. They lead to a new first-floor mezzanine with four bedrooms.

The bathroom repainted and fitted with period-style sanitary ware from Smith BrosThe bathroom repainted and fitted with period-style sanitary ware from Smith Bros
The bathroom repainted and fitted with period-style sanitary ware from Smith Bros

“I made the new first floor from proper solid wood beams and trusses. They weigh a ton but they give the living room character,” says John.

The Sunday school room is now a kitchen and an extension houses a new utility. The addition has a barrel ceiling and is so well conceived it looks as though it is part of the original building.

A wall was taken down to create a conservatory and a large covered veranda. It was at this point that John shortened the full-length chapel windows at the back by a foot.

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“They got in the way and made it difficult to place furniture so making them smaller was the obvious solution,” he says.

The space is cosy thanks to a biofuel stoveThe space is cosy thanks to a biofuel stove
The space is cosy thanks to a biofuel stove

The old pews have been used and also recycled as everything from doormat holders to a log store, thanks to the clever craftsmanship of joiner Adam Wood.

More recently, extra land was purchased to make room for a garage with an apartment above. The chapel interior has also had a major revamp, but this time John’s wife Tanya had an input.

She has a great eye for colour and design and came up with the idea of painting the cream walls in shades of grey. The brave decision, along with the new tartan carpet, has made the living space look stylish and feel cosy.

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“It is quite a dark space and you can’t fight that,” says Tanya. “I wanted to create atmosphere with the darker colour. We also found a biofuel stove and that is lovely in the evening and means we don’t have to put an unsightly flue on the outside of the building.”

The open plan living spaceThe open plan living space
The open plan living space

The kitchen makeover included a coat of Farrow & Ball’s French Grey for the cabinets and a new pan rack made by metalwork designers Sculp Steel. It is hung with dried lavender from Wolds Way Lavender in Wintringham.

The deep grey in the house bathroom and the period-style sanitary ware from Smith Brothers in York brings drama to the space, along with an electric flame-effect stove that has caused ructions.

“We usually have the same taste but I hate the stove. John loves it because it comes with sound effects of a crackling fire. We also disagree about TVs and I evicted one from the conservatory,” says Tanya, who is a big fan of hotel designer Kit Kemp.

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She sourced furniture from Rodgers of York, Barker & Stonehouse and Redbrick Mill. The original French beds are from eBay, as are the gothic dining table and chairs.

“I bid for a carver chair on eBay and the seller sent me a picture that showed the table and chairs in the background. I asked if I could buy them and she agreed,” says John, whose perfectionist streak led to five snagging lists and many minor alterations during the most recent renovation.

Most of the fabric used for the soft furnishings is Art of the Loom and there are vintage and antique pieces from shops in Malton.

John and Tanya in the kitchen. The  units were repainted in Farrow and Ball's French Grey and the rack is from Sculp Steel with lavender from Wolds WayJohn and Tanya in the kitchen. The  units were repainted in Farrow and Ball's French Grey and the rack is from Sculp Steel with lavender from Wolds Way
John and Tanya in the kitchen. The units were repainted in Farrow and Ball's French Grey and the rack is from Sculp Steel with lavender from Wolds Way

The couple have also commissioned animal paintings from Paul Robinson, whose work Tanya spotted in the Feversham Arms.

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The final touch was the pulpit, which had been languishing in the garage for two decades. Tanya insisted that it should be relocated to the hallway and given a new use.

“I love flowers from Dales florists in Malton and so we had a shelf put in the pulpit so I could put a vase on it,” she says.

“It just didn’t seem right having the pulpit in the garage and now it is back where it belongs with a new purpose.”

*John and Tanya’sUseful Contacts

Sculp Steel, metalwork designers, sculpsteel.co.uk

Rodgers of York, rodgersofyork.co.uk

Redbrick Mill, Batley, homeware, redbrickmill.co.uk

Smith Bros, York, bathrooms, smithbrothers.co.uk

Barker & Stonehouse, furniture, barkerandstonehouse.co.uk

Dales Florists, Malton and Pickering, dales-florists.co.uk

Calverts carpets, Malton, calverts-carpets.co.uk

Wolds Way Lavender, Wintringham, woldswaylavender.co.uk

Artisan frames, Pickering, picture framers, artisanframes.co.uk

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