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The little church on the corner of Main and Kuratawhiti Sts in Greytown, Wairarapa, has served the community faithfully for more than 140 years – almost to the day.
Built by Wellington architect, Thomas Turnbull, the church was opened on Christmas Day in 1880. In 1957, it was extended by adding what had been Greytown’s 1983-built courthouse as a kind of transept, giving the building a double dose of local history.
The catholic arch diocese, which owns the property, has decided to close and de-consecrate the building. It put the church and its 1090m² corner section on the market, for sale by tender, which closes Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 2pm.
“The reason that we’ve chosen tenders in the past is that the tenderer wanted to keep the church intact, they weren’t going to move it away or destroy it,” says spokesman John Bunny of the Wairarapa parish finance committee.
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“Within those churches there’s so much history, with the lead light windows and the timber. So the same process will be in place with this church in Greytown. [We’ll be hoping for] somebody that hopefully will love and retain the church.”
Bunny says the church’s “wonderful light” would make it a great option for converting into a home, but it would equally suit being turned into a restaurant, cafe, art gallery of boutique shop.
“It could be a Grand Designs type thing. We all love watching those programmes.”
Converting disused churches into homes is a popular choice in Aotearoa-NZ, as it often yields unique architectural details, such as gothic-revival arched windows, rose windows and native timbers.
They can even be an option for a first time buyer looking for something unique in an interesting part of the country.
Like renovating any older building, converting a church can sometimes be a difficult prospect – especially if the building is heritage listed, or made from stone or brick. But it can also yield incredible results, as with the stunning apartments of The St James in Wellington, and Petone’s Methodist Chapel conversion.
With an imaginative architect, it can also be an award winner. A rundown, 50s-built former church in Nelson, converted into a family home by Crosson Architects won a Housing – Alterations and Additions Award in the 2022 NZIA Nelson and Marlborough Architecture Awards in 2022.
The jury praised the way the architect “radically challenged the norms of domestic living” by putting sleep pods for teens in one of the halls.
The two main halls of the Greytown church could lend themselves to similarly cutting edge design in innovation.
The building also has a choir balcony, that would make a great library or office space, overlooking what could be a warm, functional living/kitchen/dining area. The altar area and courthouse addition, could be converted into bedrooms.
There is room outside to extend the building to include an artist studio or work space, or additional bedrooms.
“There’ll be a bit of structural work that somebody has to do. But the bones are good enough to make that quite comfortable to a lovely home.”
The church was closed during Covid, and a de-consecration service will be held in the new year.
The property is on the main road through the Wairarapa. Greytown is one of the most bustling towns in the Wairarapa, with restaurants, boutique stores and hotel on the main drag.
It’s about 1 hr to Wellington city by car, and commuter trains run regularly from the area into the city.
The parish is seeking buyer enquiry over $700,000 for the property. The listing is with David McHattie and Ben Moorcock for JL Hooker.
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