On a long, winding street in the English countryside, there’s an old stone church. The 19th century chapel is small and humble-looking, and for a long time, it lay forgotten in the town of Forest-in-Teesdale in County Durham in the U.K., just waiting for someone to remember it.
Luckily, someone recognized its charm and its beauty, and wanted to bring this 19th-century building into the modern era, complete with some 21st-century twists.
Churches are often beautiful buildings, whether they’re large and grand or small and simple, and when they become something new, we can see the beauty of their architecture in a whole new way.
The Chapel-on-the-Hillwas renovated and redesigned by Evolution Design, a U.K.-based company. The designers used the bones of the church, its stone exterior, its arched windows, and pitched roof, to create an airy guest home that can fit seven people, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Oh, and did we mention it’s available to stay in?
The best part about Chapel-on-the-Hill is how it combines the old and new. From the outside, you’d never guess that the church had changed at all since the 1800s.
Inside, it opens up into a modern, comfortable home that still honors the original elements of the building.
Even if you can’t make it to the U.K., you can check out the photos of this beautiful chapel below.
On a long stretch of road in Forest-in-Teesdale, there sits a small stone chapel. Built in the 1800s, the chapel had fallen into disrepair and had been pretty much forgotten by everyone, and just sat crumbling in the middle of the rolling countryside.
It had been used as a chapel up through the early 20th century, as this old photo shows, but for one reason or another, had been shut down and left empty for many years.
Luckily, the people at EvolutionDesign saw its potential and started fixing it up. Since it’s set a bit away from the nearest village, they thought it would, in its second life, make a great vacation home for a family or a group.
With a lot of careful work. the chapel was totally updated, modernized, and given a brand-new lease on life as a vacation cottage that can sleep seven.
They managed to keep the exterior more or less intact, so it has plenty of old-fashioned charm. The bright red paint job on the trim is pretty adorable too.
If you saw this living room on its own, the only thing that might suggest it had once been a church are the pointed arch windows.
But other than that, it’s totally modern, with lots of clean lines, simple colors, and even some modern art on the walls.
They kept the plan open, so that the place would be filled with lots of natural light, while a wood-burning stove keeps things cozy.
The kitchen is in the back and uses the original peaked ceiling. This makes it feel much roomier, but it doesn’t lose it’s quaint, cottage look.
There’s also plenty of seating, which you need with seven guests.
There’s one bathroom downstairs, complete with a full tub.
There’s also a guest bedroom.
The chapel now has a second story, which was added in by EvolutionDesign so they could include more bedrooms. The second floor makes up the top portion of the chapel, and takes advantage of that pitched roof.
Under the stairs, there’s even a little tiny desk in case you need to get some work done.
The second floor has an open area, so even downstairs you can appreciate the height of the ceiling, and a balcony serves as the upstairs hallway.
Upstairs, there are two larger bedrooms with attached baths.
Some clever shelving takes advantage of the triangular space too.
The private baths make this a perfect place for groups of friends who would prefer a little more privacy.
As for the neighbors? Well, you’ll get used to them.
Would you stay in this country chapel? SHARE its charms with anyone who loves to see the old become new again!
Read more: https://www.littlethings.com/the-chapel-on-the-hill-church-renovation/
