Room with a pew – listed church up for sale

How’s this for a room with a pew!

Yours for offers in the region of £175,000, it’s a divine property with a heavenly aspect.

The landmark Lezayre church, which closed in November 2013, has been put on the market by the Church Commissioners with estate agents Black Grace Cowley.

Kirk Christ Lezayre, also known as Holy Trinity church, was built in 1835 in the style of a spired English country church.

Registered as a listed building in 1991, it’s home to a number of cross slabs dating from the 8th to the 12th century and has an impressive stained glass window in memory of Deemster John Christian who died in 1852, and another erected by glass painter Daniel Cottier in 1884 in memory of his father.

The estate agents describe the building as ‘most imposing and spacious’ with a potential for a number of uses subject to planning consent.

But they say the Church Commissioners would consider the option of a ‘Festival Church’ – selling the building but permitting it to be used for four services of worship a year and funerals and marriages under a special licence.

A number of fixtures and fittings will be removed before any sale including the two altars, the font, communion vessels and candlesticks.

But all these will stay until a final service is held, probably in the summer of this year.

The pews will remain.

Manx National Heritage has guardianship of the Manx crosses and will remove, store and catalogue them. Old stone fonts, stoups and memorials will also be removed.

The Trustees of Milntown will be take the large brass plaque Christian memorial plus a number of other memorials.

Sunday School and Mother’s Union banners and stands, alongside other fittings will go to St Olave’s church while St George’s church will remove fabric hangings in the side chapel, wooden candle stands and also tubular bells that were in St George’s originally.