Restored to former glory: Bungendore church turned home hits the market

Sitting in the semi-rural NSW town of Bungendore is an enchanting 1800s building – once a place of worship, now a charming home that offers buyers a rare opportunity.

St John’s Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1875, but not even a decade later the government decided to build a railway line through the building. Consequently, a decision was made to relocate the church and it was moved brick-by-brick to its current location at 48 Butmaroo Street.  

The building was owned by the Presbyterian Church until 1997 and was sold to a buyer who lovingly converted it into a comfortable home.

While it has been restored, the facade still retains many of its original features and is reminiscent of the church it once was, evident in the arch windows and steeples.

Inside there is an open floor plan, with two large bedrooms on a mezzanine level that was added after the conversion. It remains incredibly sympathetic to the building’s charm, with celery pine floorboards, original leadlight and gothic-style windows, vaulted five-metre ceilings and timber panelling.

There is also a chapel-style studio at the back.

The owners, Suzie Bedford and Alan Shore, stumbled across the home after moving to Canberra from Queensland more than three years ago.  

“When we moved to Canberra we were renting and had no intention of buying, but my husband, who has a quirky taste, saw the church on the market and wanted to have a look at it,” said Suzie.

“I just looked at him and said, ‘You have that gleam in your eye’, but from the moment I walked in I just fell in love and that was it. We moved heaven and earth – pardon the pun – to get her.”

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Ever since, Suzie and Alan have worked tirelessly on fixing the home to ensure it is secure for many more generations to come.

Among other renovations, the couple has fixed the drainage, repointed the brickwork, stabilised the building, fixed cracks and replaced 1000 screws within the roof.  

“The place has been looking like a building site for the last couple of years. We moved in, in September 2015, and within two months we started work on the place to ensure she was sound,” Suzie said.

Unfortunately, the couple has made the heartbreaking decision to move back to Queensland.

“I love the ambience and the sense of space,” she said. “When you walk into the home you just feel very safe and there’s such a lovely atmosphere.

“It’s quite a hard decision to sell her, particularly now that we have her at an ideal stage.”

Over the three years Suzie has been living in the home it has proved to be quite an attraction.

“We have had people wandering around the grounds spontaneously, thinking it is still a church [and] often when we are working in the garden there are tourists who drive past the place,” Suzie said.

“There was one man from Scotland who drove up to the home and said his mother was married here and he wanted to have a look.”

Luton Properties Gungahlin agent Katrice Velnaar sold the home to Suzie and Alan three years ago and is now reselling it for them.

In the first week of the home being listed online, Katrice said she had more than 40 inquiries.

“I showed through a party who had been wanting to buy a converted church for a long time,” she said.

“Suzie and Alan have ensured the home stands the test of time even longer. It’s amazing when you enter the home, it’s just immaculate.”