Yahoo Finance Fancy living in a lighthouse or a clock tower? Check these conversions
Standard purpose-built houses aren’t for everyone, so if you’re after something out of the ordinary, why not consider a property that started life with a completely different function before being converted into residential use?
Such buildings are packed with character and history, full of quirks and each is truly unique, so scroll through this round-up of some of the most awesome conversions on the market right now to see some of the most exciting properties in the UK.
1.St Anne’s Head Lighthouse, Dale, Pembrokeshire, offers over £900,000
Imagine the bragging rights you could enjoy as the owner of a rare-to-market private lighthouse, built in 1844 to guide ships bound for Milton Haven.
As well as panoramic views from every room, it has a 360 degree observatory at the top of its circular four-storey tower that would make the perfect chill-out space, six bedrooms, a games room, sauna and a two-bed cottage to provide extra income as a holiday let.
And for days when it’s too cold to venture into the sea for a swim, there’s even an indoor pool.
Available from Purplebricks.
2. Watermill, Nr Hickstead, West Sussex, £1.6m
Although it hasn’t been operational since the late 1960s, all the workings have been retained in this substantial watermill, which has been sensitively restored and is now a very comfortable family home incorporating beamed ceilings, cast iron columns and original top hung sliding wooden doors.
It’s arranged over four levels, with a reception hall, day room, office, utility and cog room on the ground floor, a drawing room, galleried study, huge kitchen/living/dining room, original engine and grinding rooms on the first floor, and the bedrooms on the upper two storeys.
For sale through Fine & Country.
Read more: Six amazing castles for sale in the UK
3. Oast house, Hunton, Kent, offers over £1.25 million
A five-bed, three-bathroom house forming part of a red brick mid 19th century oast house that was converted in the 1970s. Oast houses were designed for drying hops as part of the brewing process.
Sitting in over two acres of grounds, it has three large circular kilns, each with a distinctive conical roof, and a magnificent wood-panelled sitting room with a inglenook fireplace and opening onto a terrace.
The entrance hall, kitchen, dining room and three of the bedrooms are situated within the circular kilns, and there’s potential to add more rooms in the attic space, subject to planning permission being granted.
It’s available through Jackson-Stops.
Read more: Seven of the best homes with gyms
4. Clock tower, Ely, Cambridgeshire, £385,000
You won’t be able to get away with poor punctuality when buying this duplex penthouse apartment as it’s in a listed clock tower which was previously part of a hospital.
Three bedrooms and two bathrooms are on the first floor, and a huge, light-filled open plan kitchen/living area takes up the entire second — and top — floor. This has a vaulted ceiling with exposed timber beams and two hexagonal turrets, which would make wonderful reading nooks if you can tear yourself away from the sweeping views over the city and cathedral.
For sale through Pocock & Shaw.
5. The Old School, Newton on Ouse, York, £799,950
This recently renovated former village school gets full marks due to its outstanding finish, combining contemporary flair with original architectural details.
Completed in 1857, it was designed by George Townsend Andrews, the architect behind many notable local buildings including York Railway Station, and features ecclesiastical-style windows, vaulted ceilings and beams.
The hub is a vast open plan kitchen, living and dining room, and it also boasts a second floor master suite with dressing room, and three further bedrooms all with ensuites plus a utility room and a beautifully maintained garden. Interested? Contact Hudson Moody.
6. Windmill, Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, offers over £475,000
Homes don’t come much more unusual that this former windmill, minus sails but complete with an adjoining granary
Far more spacious that it initially seems, accommodation is laid out over four storeys, with a kitchen, living and dining rooms on the ground floor, three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the first floor.
The master bedroom and ensuite on the second floor of the granary building, with an office at the same level in the windmill and a viewing tower with access to a flat roof and 360 degree views over Lincolnshire above. If the idea of living in a windmill has you in a spin, contact Purplebricks.
7. Toll house, Bath, Avon, £550,000
One of four former Neoclassical toll houses built on Bath’s Cleveland Bridge in 1827 to charge pedestrians and horse-drawn vehicles for crossing into the city.
Read more: Six amazing castles for sale in the UK
The main entrance at street level opens into a hallway and through into a large drawing room, and there are two bedrooms — one with an ensuite shower room — plus a separate bathroom.
Stairs lead down to a pretty kitchen with high ceilings, exposed stone walls and patio doors leading out to a decked area overlooking the river Avon. For sale through Winkworth.
