Luxury turnaround for Louth church

A former Church of Ireland near Ardee, Co Louth, converted into a luxurious family home at a cost of €1.2 million, is now on the market through Savills with an asking price of €400,000.

After buying Charlestown Church, which dates from 1827, at the height of the property boom in 2007, the owner set about converting it into a modern home while still retaining the qualities of the Georgian period – grace, elegance and space.

The restoration project involved the building of a separate structure within the old church featuring the best of materials as well as modern technologies.

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The result is an integrated kitchen and dining room featuring wall and floor units by McCauley Kitchens with integrated Neff electrical appliances, a Falcon cooking centre, double Belfast sink, granite work tops and a pantry with a trap door opening down to an underground wine cellar. The floors have been fitted with a mixture of Travertine tiles and carpet, while chandeliers and wall lights add ambience.

An air heating system, along with under floor heating, keeps the church cosy. The main lounge also has a Finnish-designed fireplace which doubles as a storage heater.

Apart from the various technologies introduced to make the church comfortable, considerable attention has also been given to the restoration of the original features of the building, including corniced ceilings, exposed brick work and seven stained-glass casement windows – one by Harry Clarke – which are now double glazed. The spire has also been restored and is illuminated at night. The heavy forged iron entrance gates have been adapted to open and close electronically.

The overall floor area extends to about 293sq m (3,153sq ft) and apart from the kitchen-diningroom and pantry on the ground floor there are also two double bedrooms with en suite bathrooms.

The church has an impressive staircase leading up to a mezzanine area which is lit during daylight hours by a number of stained glass windows and a skylight.

At this level there is also the main bedroom with separate dressingroom, an office and a fourth bedroom. For those who might need even more space, a further stairs leads up to an attic floor.