downsmail.co.uk


Converted church up for sale – for £900,000


THEChurchofNewJerusalemin Snodland High Street, a grade II listed building which has been converted into a home, is on the market, for £900,000. It was bought by Steve Skelton


and his son, Dave, as an office for Holbrook Electrical and Engineer- ing Services in 2010. But when DavemetMelissa, in 2011, they fell in love with the old building and decided to live there. Dave andMelissaworkedweek-


ends andevery evening onthe con- version. Theymarriedin2013, and slept inanoffice inahallnext to the church, while the work was being done. The churchwas built in 1881 and


usedas aplace ofworshipuntil the 1980s. It was bought by Paul Tit- tertonandMaxineGent fromEssex in 2005 for £185,000, and even ap- peared in the BBCtelevision series, Homes under theHammer. The couple carried out some


work before putting the church up for auction for £240,000 in 2007. The Skeltons (pictured) have re-


tainedthe original stonepulpit, the organ, the altar and several stained glass windows. They have built four bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. Dave said: “Windows were smashed, the floorwas rotting and


it was like a dumping ground.” "Luckilywe didn't have to take the roof off but, if it had been left for a fewmore years, itwould have cost a lotmoremoney." Melissa, who used to live in


Hove, says shemisses being by the sea, so the couple, alongwith two- year-old son, Harrison, plan to move to the Kent coast.


News Garden date


GET gardening and earn some money for your efforts. Tonbridge and Malling Bor-


ough Council’s In Bloom compe- tition offers all entrants a £5 voucher to spend on plants. The competition is open to individu- als, businesses, and those respon- sible for community planters. The closing date is June 30.


Entry forms are available from Leybourne Lakes Country Park, Larkfield Leisure Centre, the council’s offices in Gibson Drive, Kings Hill or online through sponsors,www.coolings.co.uk.


Rape arrests


AMAN fromAylesford has been arrested on suspicion of rape. An investigation has been


launched by Kent Police after it was reported the offence had taken place at a home in Canter- bury, in the early hours of Sun- day,April 21. Two men from Canterbury,


aged 18 and 26, and the 21-year- old man fromAylesford were ar- rested on Thursday, April 25. They remain in custodywhile en- quiries are ongoing.


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