A Hawke’s Bay couple who describe themselves as “collectors of things” are selling their biggest antique of all – a heritage-protected church.
Rob Thorpe and Karen McKinley-Thorpe stumbled across the former St Joseph’s Church in Clive about 15 years ago when the congregation first put the vacant building up for sale.
The Catholic church was built in 1889 and deconsecrated 100 years later.
Thorpe told OneRoof they fell in love with the category two heritage-protected building, but missed out when it went to tender. “We just fell in love with it when we saw it. We were both into old properties and everything.”
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The successful buyer ran it as an art gallery for several years before it hit the market again.
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They were living in a villa in Napier at the time and their second attempt to buy it was much more successful.
Thorpe moved in on his own for the first three months and with the help of a builder converted it from an empty shell into a spacious two-bedroom, one-bathroom home.
The footprint of the category two heritage-protected building has been untouched, and they instead worked with what they had – converting the vestry into a bathroom and adding a second bedroom on the mezzanine floor.
“It’s just one big open church. We haven’t modified inside whatsoever. We’ve just repainted and done everything, but we’ve left it as is inside.”
He also found some hidden treasures while restoring the church and exposed kauri doors which had been covered over with ply in the 1970s. The beautiful stained glass windows are another reminder of its rich history.
“In the kitchenette it had a low ceiling compared to the rest of the church, so I just got a hammer and punched a hole through it, and we found a beautiful, polished matai ceiling.”
The original church pews still take centre stage and are used for seating around the dining room table. Buying the church inspired the couple to start buying vintage items and the walls have become a shrine to all their eclectic finds.
“When we bought the church, we just started picking up bits and pieces through auctions or marketplace or garage sales and we haven’t stopped. We are collectors of bits and pieces.”
The kitchen looks out to the main hall, now a dining room and living space. Photo / Supplied
One of two bedrooms in the former St Joseph’s Church. Photo / Supplied
Thorpe said they loved living there and it had been a great hub for family gatherings. “We just love it. It’s quite peaceful. We have lots of family coming all the time. We’ve had some pretty big 21st and 80ths.”
Their grandchildren enjoyed playing volleyball and even throwing axes on the 1019sqm grounds. They also spent hours searching for gold, using Thorpe’s metal detector after he scattered coins in the neighbouring paddock for them to find.
The couple are selling because they are ready for a change after almost 10 years, but will miss the space and privacy.
“We have no neighbours, it’s great.”
The church still gets a lot of attention from people passing by with former parishioners, people who have got married there, and even vintage car clubs who use the church in a game where they must find its street number because it is tucked away on the front door.
“We get a lot of tourists just pulling up. We get some people turn up who still think it is a church, we’ve had a few walk-ins.”
The renovation had been an ongoing project for the couple who only completed painting the inside several years ago and also spent several years creating the impressive gardens.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Sophie Sheild-Barrett said the converted church was attracting a lot of interest from empty-nesters who loved character buildings including some who had previously missed out on buying it had looked at it again. There were also people who saw potential in running it as an Airbnb due to its charm and central location.
“You are close between Napier, Havelock, out to the beaches, all the wineries, all the walkways and bikeways, Clive is a really trending area.
“Those coming to Hawke’s Bay would get a really cool experience because even if they’ve got a rental that’s all great, but they can just walk down to the pub to have a really nice pub meal, there’s a restaurant there, there’s coffee there but they are right in the hub if they want to have a good look around Hawke’s Bay – they can go left or right.”
The church has an RV of $820,000 and the tender for the sale closes on November 22.
The former St Johns Church, on Ponsonby Road, in Ponsonby, Auckland, is back on the market two years after selling for close to $7m. Photo / Supplied
In June this year, the former St Thomas’ Church on Meeanee Road in Meeanee, Hawke’s Bay, also sold for an undisclosed price and the new owner also planned to eventually live in it. The property had no kitchen or bathroom and, according to the Property Broker’s listing, was an “exciting canvas for the next owner to bring their ideas and design for a desirable resurrection”. The sale price is not yet listed publicly on OneRoof.
The iconic St Johns Church at 229A Ponsonby Road, in Ponsonby, has also resurfaced for sale again after last changing hands for $6,817,500 in November 2021.
Listing photos show the 140-year-old building is still set up as a church and, according to the listing, was recently refurbished with a 67% seismic rating.
“A blank canvas opportunity offering a range of uses for homeowners, consideration should also be given to repurposing or redeveloping the secondary addition structure (not historic),” the listing said.
On the North Shore, a pair of converted Devonport churches at 95a Calliope Road is still for sale. The homes were renovated by first-home buyer advocate Lesley Harris who has lived in both of them and run them as lucrative Airbnbs.
- 17 School Road, in Clive, Hastings, is for sale by way of tender, closing November 22
