a day ago
Is this Leven house Fife's cheapest church conversion?
A handsome and characterful home in Leven may be Fife's cheapest church conversion.
The Vestry is a B listed church that was converted into two homes around a decade ago. Located on Durie Street, it's in the heart of the coastal Fife town. Shops and restaurants are on the doorstep and the beach is just a couple of minutes' walk away.
Leven's railway station, which connects to Edinburgh, is also easy to reach on foot.
Kelly Donald has lived there for five years and is the Vestry's second owner. 'I went to view it on a whim out of sheer nosiness and just fell in love with it,' she says.
'It's completely unique and really charming. I loved it from the first moment I set foot in it.'
The church was divided into two homes – the main building and the vestry. 'The lady in front owns the main part of the church and I have the vestry,' Kelly continues.
'I have the entire right side of the building with my own entrance and garden.'
A path runs down the side of the garden to a beautiful original arched timber entrance door. The showcase space is the open plan lounge and kitchen, which features three big arched windows.
A central island provides seating and separates the kitchen and living areas. Off the main hallway there is a shower room with a walk-in enclosure and a double bedroom that has an original fireplace.
A spiral staircase descends from the living room into the master bedroom. Occupying the basement level of the vestry it has an en suite shower room and built in mirrored wardrobes.
A double glazed door in the bedroom opens onto stone steps and provides access to the garden.
Most church conversions suffer from having gigantic main spaces that are a nightmare to heat. But while the Vestry's living area certainly isn't small, its ceiling is around the height of an average Victorian home.
Good levels of insulation and gas central heating make it economical to run. 'It's a church conversion that costs the same as a normal house to keep warm,' Kelly says. 'My bills are very reasonable.
'Another thing I love about the house is that the walls are a metre thick. You can't hear a thing from outside.
'A couple of years ago we had a huge thunderstorm. Everyone was talking about it the next day. But I'd been in my bedroom in the basement and had slept soundly through the whole thing.'
Those thick stone walls serve another purpose as well: 'It's a fantastic party house,' Kelly continues. 'We've had loads of friends over and no one can hear a thing from outside. During covid I had a hot tub and bar in the garden.'
Remarkably, there's more to explore in the Vestry. 'I had great fun ripping out the wardrobes in the upstairs bedroom and finding a cast iron fireplace,' Kelly says.
'My dream project was to knock through the wall in the downstairs master bedroom to extend the house as there's still tons more undiscovered space there to be developed and explored. Maybe the next owner will discover that.'
Kelly, 41, works as a transport manager for a linen company. In June she put the Vestry up for sale with a £170,000 price tag. A few days ago that was reduced to £160,000.
That makes it very good value indeed. While there might be one or two flats within converted churches on sale for less, it's by far Fife's cheapest house within a converted church.
'I'm really gutted to be selling it,' she says. 'But I work in Edinburgh and my partner lives in Edinburgh. We've decided to move in together and it doesn't make sense to live here when our lives are there.
'If I could pick up this house and move it to Edinburgh I would. I hope the house goes to someone who loves it as much as I do.'
The Vestry, Durie Street, Leven is on sale with Your Move for offers over £160,000.
