A Victorian chapel in the South Downs ascends into glory as a four-bedroom family home
Woodlands in Bramdean shows just how exciting a church conversion can be.
If this is your first time here, welcome. If it’s not, then it will be no surprise that we are once again writing about a house that was once a chapel but is now, as just mentioned, a house.
It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what it is about the chapel conversion that I find so enchanting, considering that I am not, by any definition, a religious man. I think it’s primarily the combination of the modern with the ancient, and the high ceilings. Induction hobs and stained glass. I do not ask for much.
Today’s edition is this sublime example from Bramdean in Hampshire. For sale with Carter Jonas for £1.395 million, Woodlands Chapel was originally built in 1889 and was a rural chapel under the Diocese of Portsmouth until 1982. It is now a very cool family home of four bedrooms.
It’s got all the ecclesiastical hits — brick and flint elevations, stained glass windows and a bell tower. It also has a Neptune fitted kitchen with granite worktops. I would be in heaven (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Set over two floors, the majority of the home gives way to the double-height dining/sitting room, which I think we can all agree is a pretty terrific use of space. There is also a separate garden room, study/bedroom and the kitchen. Three bedrooms occupy the first floor.
A lot of credit should be given to the current owners, who have found a tremendous balance between the modern and the traditional aspects of this house. It has retained so much character, and yet looks so liveable.
Further credit goes to the fabulous work on the garden, which includes lawned areas, raised beds and well-stocked borders bursting with colour, and lots of terraced areas perfect for al fresco dining and entertaining.
Situated in the South Downs National Park, the only thing more impressive than Woodlands Chapel is perhaps the surrounding scenery in this most desirable part of southern England. Praise be.
