{"id":2116091,"date":"2026-08-25T09:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T08:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/?p=2116091"},"modified":"2026-08-25T09:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T08:30:39","slug":"historic-shropshire-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/westmidlands\/news\/2116091-historic-shropshire-church","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Historic&#8217; Shropshire church goes to auction with approval for eight flats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">A Grade II-listed former church in Whitchurch, Shropshire, is set to go under the hammer at Bond Wolfe&#8217;s September auction, with full planning permission already in place for conversion into eight apartments.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The former<a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitchurch-heritage.co.uk\/whitchurch-history-and-heritage\/places\/united-reformed-church-dodington\/\"> United Reform Church<\/a>, on Dodington, will carry a guide price of \u00a385,000-plus at the livestreamed auction on Thursday 10 September.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The detached building was originally constructed in 1813 as a Congregational Chapel before later serving as a United Reformed Church, and has links to composer Edward German, whose father served as the church&#8217;s organist and choirmaster for more than 30 years in the late 19th century.<\/p>\n<div role=\"feed\" aria-label=\"Chat messages\" aria-describedby=\"_r_7s_\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div role=\"article\" aria-label=\"Message 824 of 824\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">James Rossiter, associate director at Bond Wolfe, said: &#8220;This historic Grade II-listed building presents a rare and exciting development opportunity in one of Shropshire&#8217;s oldest and most charming market towns.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Full planning permission was granted in May 2024 for the sympathetic conversion of the property into eight residential apartments, with a mix of one and two bedroom, plus dedicated parking spaces.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;The development includes the former church, adjoining church hall and Sunday School, and this is predominantly level, with the former graveyard gently sloping away at the rear.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;The scheme extends to just under 5,200 sq ft of accommodation and has been thoughtfully designed to retain many of the building&#8217;s original architectural features, preserving its historic character while creating attractive contemporary residences.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The former church traces its origins back to 1797, when the congregation split from the Presbyterian Church. According to its Historic England listing, worshippers first converted a small currier&#8217;s shop on the site into a chapel in 1798, before enlarging and fitting it out in 1813. The building was further extended in 1815 and 1846, with its centenary marked in 1913.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The freehold property sits around 600 metres from Whitchurch town centre, with connections to the wider Shropshire, Cheshire and Welsh borders. It is one of 186 lots in Bond Wolfe&#8217;s next auction, which starts at 8.30am on 10 September, with bidding available online, by phone or by proxy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Grade II-listed former church in Whitchurch, Shropshire, is set to go under the hammer at Bond Wolfe&#8217;s September auction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284306,"featured_media":2116093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,127687],"coauthors":[137138],"class_list":["post-2116091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","category-regeneration","tag-featured-story","tag-shropshire"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Historic&#039; 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