Former Devon chapels to auction with Rendells
It’s a dream for many of us to buy a former chapel and feel the splendour within its historic walls. The Chagford office of Rendells is a specialist in such properties and is offering a choice of two for sale by online auction this month.
Only last week, the long-established firm of chartered surveyors, auctioneers, valuers, land and estate agents, sold Bridford Village Mission Chapel. The distinctive and unlisted single-room chapel dating to the late 1800’s sits in a central location within the popular Dartmoor village and sold for £69,625 against a guide price of £45,000.
Eastacombe Chapel – Guide £50,000
The auction is now live and ending on 9th April for this detached Grade II Listed chapel in a small rural hamlet around a mile from the village of Tawstock and two miles from Barnstaple.
Dating from 1818 and full of great character with tonnes of potential, subject to consents, the chapel appears to be of stone and cob construction with a more modern side extension. Inside is an entrance lobby with stairs rising to a gallery overlooking the main chapel, which has character features such as arched windows, timber flooring and a high ceiling. There is a kitchen and WC, as well as another WC accessed from outside.
To the front is an area of unregistered land, which has always been used for parking and gives access to farmers fields and the graveyard, which is excluded from the sale.
Planning permission was granted for conversion to a three-bedroom residence in 2019 and building works undertaken in 2022, which resulted in a large portion of a wall falling out – the existing scaffolding is included in the sale. An opening bid of £30,000 is invited.
The Methodist Chapel, Whiddon Down – Guide £195,000
Live and ending on 22nd April is the auction of this unlisted, stone-built methodist chapel in the heart of the popular small village of Whiddon Down, close to Dartmoor National Park and the A30 road network. Dating from 1906, this chapel comes with current planning permission for conversion into two holiday lets of two bedrooms and six bedrooms respectively.
Full of period features including a crenelated entrance hall and main chapel with leaded stained glass windows, wooden flooring and high curved ceilings, the chapel also comes with a kitchen/meeting room, side hallway, cloakroom/WC, second externally-accessed cloakroom and WC, and a boiler room housing the oil-fired boiler.
There is driveway parking for a number of vehicles and a further parking area and garden to the rear. In front of the chapel are stone pillars with a wrought iron gate and fencing with steps up to the main arched door. There is currently right of access over this area to the burial ground, however planning permission has been lodged to create a separate access point. The burial ground will be retained by the church.
A great base for a holiday, the village has a popular pub, petrol station with shop, and is on a regular bus route. The ancient stannary town of Chagford is five miles away, while Okehampton is seven miles, Exeter 16 miles, and both the north and south Devon coasts are around 30 miles away. There are also superb local beauty spots with walking, riding, cycling and fishing to be enjoyed. For this chapel, an opening bid of £190,000 is invited.
Rendells online property auctions provides an effective and simple way to buy and sell property and land with the potential to reach a global market of buyers. Retaining all the advantages of a conventional auction room sale with competitive bidding, the online platform runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing buyers the opportunity to bid from the comfort of their own homes without any pressure.
Potential buyers must register at www.rendells.co.uk/online-auction to view/download Legal Packs and bid. Auctions run until the closing time, unless sold prior. The successful purchaser is liable to pay the sum of £5,000 at the end of the auction, of which £1,400 goes towards the property. A 10% deposit (minus the £1,400) is payable within 48 hours and completion is set for 20 working days.
For more details about any of the properties, to find out more about the auction process, or to arrange a viewing appointment, visit www.rendells.co.uk/online-auction or call the Chagford office on 01647 432277.
