Spooky coffin-shaped chapel that backs onto a graveyard up for sale as a family home for £320k
A former chapel that is shaped like a coffin to deliberately remind visitors of death has gone on sale as a potential family home.
Those fascinated with all things spooky could snap themselves up the perfect pad in the form of this Victorian chapel, built in 1835.
The property is on the market for £320,000 and planning permission has been granted for plans to convert it into a unique five-bedroom home.
But any prospective buyers will need to be au-fait with a constant reminder of death, as not only was the property purposely built in the shape of a coffin to remind worshippers of their own mortality, but it also backs on to a graveyard.
Still, at least there won't be any noise from the neighbours.
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The former Baptist chapel, in Fressingfield, Suffolk, is believed to have accommodated 700 people in its early days, and still maintains some of it's church-y features with a gallery and an in-built baptistry.
The box pews and pulpit were replaced in 1912, and years later classrooms and a large hexagonal hall were also added.
But now, the remarkable, 185-year-old building will house just one (lucky?) family, as it switches its use once again to become a private home.
Approved plans for the interesting new home, designed by Gorniak & Mckechnie Ltd Architects and Designers, include an entrance hall, kitchen, utility room, dining room, living room, ground-floor bedroom and shower room.
The first floor will house four bedrooms, two shower rooms and a study.
Of course turning a former chapel into a family home will require quite a bit of work, but for those seeking something a little bit different it could be the perfect project.
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As well as presenting a unique opportunity to break away from the norm, the property has a pretty covetable location being close to the centre of the village, with easy access to all the amenities Fressingfield has to offer - including a pub, a restaurant, a village shop, a primary school, a GP's surgery and a sports club.
For those wondering what will happen to the now displaced Fressingfield congregation, they will be moving to a new home on School Lane.
To find out more about the unique, spooky-shaped home, visit Clarke and Simpson.
Watch: Martin Roberts shares his top tips for those wanting to buy a home.
Perhaps prospective buyers may take inspiration from another spooky home built next to a cemetery.
Earlier this year, social media lit up after Grand Designs featured an amazing £4.5m ‘Gothic’ house built in the grounds of a Victorian graveyard.
The project was definitely one of the strangest in the show’s history with viewers left amazed by the ‘goth house’, complete with a moat and a chainmail water feature.
Host Kevin McCloud wasn’t totally convinced about the idea of living in a graveyard. “I mean, you’ve got lots of neighbours, but they’re all dead,” he quipped.
The neo-Gothic house also involved a six-metre basement extension built just a metre away from the nearest gravestone.
But despite a few hurdles, both financial and practical, presented by the unique project, in the end, the house came together and looked incredible.
Read more: Zoopla reveals the properties we’ve been dreaming of moving to during lockdown
It seems unusual properties have been giving us life during lockdown.
Back in November 2020, we fell in love with a cute little “Hobbit” house made of polystyrene coated with mud and cement, which was up for sale for $220,000 (approximately £166,000).
The sweet one-bedroom home looks as though it could be straight out of the Shire, but is actually located in Marshfield, Vermont, US.
And last September we were amazed by an ordinary looking house, that came complete with a full-sized skate park on the ground floor.
Meanwhile a converted lighthouse perched on the edge of a cliff in Pembrokeshire recently went on the market for just under £1million.
Converted into a home with eight bedrooms overlooking the Irish Sea and the dramatic Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, it sits just 15 miles from the Welsh town of Haverfordwest.
Additional reporting SWNS.
