Northumberland home proves a hit on Channel 4's Love It or List It property show

The former United Reformed Church in Horncliffe, near Berwick, was converted into a stunning open plan home by Trevor and Fiona Silvester.

It wowed presenter Phil Spencer and Edinburgh couple, Bill and Gary, when they travelled south of the border in search of their ideal home.

The 1850s church conversion boasts a breath-taking double height atrium on the ground floor with access to four en-suite bedrooms as well as a spacious kitchen and dining area and two further bedrooms.

Gary said he was ‘gobsmacked’, while Bill said it was ‘amazing’

"It’s really special,” said Phil. “The volume, the sense of grandeur, the ceiling height, they have just done it beautifully.”

Although the couple decided not to buy it, Trevor and Fiona are hoping the positive publicity will help their sale.

"The response from the presenters and participants was extremely enthusiastic and complementary so that was a big relief,” admitted Trevor.

"We hadn’t seen the show before it was broadcast so we had no idea what they were going to say so it was a pleasant surprise.”

They were approached about putting their home forward for the show in the autumn. Filming took place in December.

"We felt we had nothing to lose by doing it,” added Trevor. “The big appeal, of course, is the publicity it gets.

"On the day of filming we were told to make ourselves scarce so we didn’t get to meet Phil.”

Trevor and Fiona bought the property, along with the neighbouring ‘tin hut’ church hall, some 15 years ago.

“It was a functioning church when we bought it but we did the conversion,” said Trevor. “It was just a shell so everything you see in the show was put in there by us.

"We had a new roof put on and builder Craig Wells and joiner Paul Riley were just wonderful.

"We didn’t have an architect, we just sat down and drew what we thought we wanted and took it from there. It evolved from there – with input from Craig and Paul – and it’s been a great place to live – we just need something smaller now.”

They hope to stay in Horncliffe if they can find the right place.

"We’d love to buy again here so we’ll be keeping an eye on things,” said Trevor. “We were in Berwick for a long time before coming here and we’ve loved living in the village.”

Fiona added: “It’s a really vibrant little village with lots going on so we’d love to stay.

"We know people that were christened here and married here and the village has been so supportive,” added Trevor. “When we moved here we wondered what the minister would say but he said we’d given the old church a new lease of life which was nice to hear.”

The Old Church, Horncliffe, is available with a guide price of £595,000 through Finest Properties. Call 01434 622234 for details or visit https://finestproperties.co.uk/

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