The pioneering conversion of a historic church has been given the blessing of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The disused church in God’s Own Country – Yorkshire, if you didn’t already know – dates back more than a thousand years. Now it has been saved by villagers and turned into a hostel for walkers and cyclists.
Like many villages up and down the country which lose their places of worship due to dwindling congregations, St Michael’s in Hudswell, near Richmond, was closed in 2017. But residents of the picturesque village, which has a population of just 350 and which is recorded in the Domesday Book, feared it would be sold to a developer to be converted into a private home. So they set about trying to save it for an alternative use.
The Hudswell Community Charity, which dates back to 17th-century monarch Charles II and which already owns the village pub, shop and hall, social housing, allotments – and an orchard – hit on the idea of a hostel. Mr Sunak, who left Downing Street last July after the Tories’ crushing election defeat, is still MP for Richmond and Northallerton, and he has always been behind the project.
The listed sandstone building, built in 1884 to replace one from 1711, which in turn took the place of a medieval church, was ideal as it sat at the crossroads of the Coast to Coast Path National trail and the Finchale Camino Inglés to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, currently being developed. Its route starts at Finchale Abbey in County Durham.
The charity acquired the redundant church in 2013 and raised £870,000 in grant aid to pay for the conversion for six en-suite rooms, a residents’ lounge and dining area in the former chancel and a kitchen in the old vestry. It was officially opened last Saturday by The Yorkshire Vet star Julian Norton, pictured inset. Trustee Martin Booth hoped it would be a hit with visitors as its historic church features have been retained.
Mr Booth said: “Obviously, the church is part of the village history, a lot of people’s ancestors are buried there, and people in the village have got married there. It was a building that meant something to quite a lot of people. The Church Commissioners would have sold it to a private developer and often it gets turned into housing. We did not want that to happen because that would have meant access to the building with all its features would be lost to the villagers – so we have kept it in the ownership of the village.”
He added: “We thought we might be able to find another use for it, because at the time it was basically falling into disrepair, it was not being used and was cold and damp. We wondered if we could find another use that was sustainable and would generate an income. We could save it. It’s a historic building.
“Although it’s late Victorian, it’s got remains from a previous earlier medieval church built into the walls, so it’s got quite an interesting historic feature. We are really pleased with the result and think it will get a lot of interest from people to come and stay, because it’s such a lovely conversions in a lovely part of the world.”
● To book a room at St Michael’s, call 01748 343022 or visit https://stmichaelslodge.com/
