The conversion of the historic St Clements Old School building into four new, four bedroom townhouses completed this week and the developer, local man, Chris Barton is celebrating by throwing the doors open on Saturday 21 April from 10am to 4pm.
Built in 1879 and located on Chorlton Green, St Clements Old School was formerly known as Old Chorlton School, it was used as a school until 1930. Since it closed as school it has been used for a number of different purposes including a Sunday school.
Chris has owned the former school building for ten years. He originally lived in the property with his family but as the gas bills got too big, he decided to split the property into four separate and very individual homes.
Working with Jonathan Davidson of Manchester based Q2 Architects, Chris has retained many of the original features of the school house including the striking pitch pine trusses, large windows and original brick walls. He has combined them with complementary modern features including reclaimed oak flooring, slate floored bathrooms with Duravit Starck fixtures and kitchens fitted with AEG/Bosch appliances.
Each house is different, each has its own private space to the rear and parking is provided for one car per property.
Jonathan Davidson said: “St Clements Old School is a beautiful building with fantastic original features. It is always a challenge working with historic properties but the new, modern interventions here really enhance the quality and character of the existing building”
The show home, 31B Chorlton Green, styled by NoChintz, is the largest (2,300 sq ft) of the four properties. The front door has been created using one of the former windows and opens into an atrium which rises to the highest point of the building, allowing the volume of the original building to be appreciated.
The ground floor provides views through from the front to the back of the house, with full width folding doors opening out on the private terrace area at the back. The rear living area includes an original fire place. A glazed sliding door provides a modern intervention to break the space up if needed.
To complement the fully fitted kitchen with AEG appliances, there’s also a generous sized utility room on the ground floor. At the front of the property is a dining area; however the space is flexible to allow the owner to decide how they want to use it.
On the first floor, the large master bedroom comes complete with a generous dressing area and wet room en-suite bathroom. The large family bathroom is also on first floor, plus a large double bedroom.
On the second floor, there’s further two double bedrooms, which would make excellent rooms for children of any age. The two bedrooms feature original pitch pine trusses. Pitch pine originates from North America and was historically used for ship building and construction in the 18th and 19th centuries, many mills, warehouses and buildings from that period used it for beams and trusses. All bedrooms are carpeted and all fixtures and fittings have been carefully selected to complement the design.
Located on Chorlton Green, St Clements Old School is in one of the most popular residential locations in Manchester. Chorlton Green is a conservation area. It is within a 10 minute walk to the new Chorlton Metrolink stop, with easy access to the main road network linking to Manchester city centre and the Airport.
Chorlton Park and Meadows are on the doorstep, and Beech Road and its independent shops, cafes and restaurants is just a short walk away.
St Clements Old School is the first residential development Chris has carried out, it has been a very interesting journey.
Chris said: “Converting the building into these four new homes has been an exhilarating experience for me. I love the building and wanted to make homes that I would want to live in myself. I hope when people see them, they feel the same way as I do.”
Prices start from £550,000. Anyone is welcome to attend the open day which is on Saturday 21 April from 10am-4pm, refreshments and entertainment will be provided. JP & Brimelow is the agent acting on behalf of Chris and anyone wanting more information about the houses such contact the Chorlton office of the agent on 0161 882 2233 or chorlton@jpbrimelow.co.uk.
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For Further Information Please Contact
Lisa Ashurst, Ashurst Communications on 07973 401123 or lisa@ashurstcomms.co.uk
