WHEN Chris Barton (pictured above) was selling imported second hand clothes in Aflecks back in the 1980’s the chap on the stall next to him trading t-shirts and posters was Tom Bloxham.
I could have set a budget but I love the building and wanted to make homes that I would want to live in myself. It’s probably not a very good developer way of looking at it
They were stall neighbours for a year or so before entrepreneurial ambition sent them on their different ways.
St Clement's Old School
While Tom decided to convert industrial buildings to make a few places to live Chris headed to Leeds and opened some clubs.
He said: “Afflecks gave quite a few people their break. It showed anything was possible. I opened a few clothes shops and we had one in Leeds that did very well but the city had no decent bars so I started one that had the first two am licence, the Town House, which was successful so we opened a couple more.”
Despite a brief spell living on the other side of the Pennines while his three children were tiny his roots are firmly in south Manchester. Ten years ago he bought St Clements Old School, right on Chorlton Green and lived in the space pretty much as an adventure playground with a rope swing from one of the old beams, a bike circuit on the ground floor and a make-shift kitchen somewhere in the middle.
He said: “I was in the right place at the right time. The building had been used for various things after closing as a school in 1930 and when I came and knocked on the door the owners Pentland Properties were in a mood to sell.
“In the end it went to sealed bids and at £477,000 I probably paid way too much but I loved the building. Still do.”
Three years ago he sold the Leeds clubs “and had a rest” but wanted another project and decided St Clements was it.
St Clement's Old School
He said: “It was a fun place to live but impractical really with the kids growing up and I was paying out about £1,500 a month simply to heat it.
“So I decided to split it into four individual homes and cast around for an architect.
“A friend of a friend recommended Jonathan Davidson and when he arrived at the first visit in a 20-year-old Saab 900 I knew he was more concerned with style over practicality and that we would be able to work together.”
They took a year perfecting the designs and talking to conservation officers and work started about 18 months ago.
Chris said: “The planning officers were very supportive. They could see that we wanted to breathe new life into this old building without changing its external character. They didn’t want to see it falling into disrepair.”
The end results are impressive. And very Chorlton.
St Clement's Old School
Four big townhouses, each over three floors, sleek white and steel kitchens, slate wet rooms, reclaimed oak flooring, exposed brick, bi-fold doors and good use of glass.
As in all the very best developments it is the attention to detail and the well done features that set them apart.
Like the stairs. I would happily sit all day on the stairs.
Made of oak the central part of the tread is recessed to take the carpet and instead of a traditional banister or more predictable glass and steel, 6m lengths of engineered oak run right from the top of the house to the bottom.
Chris delights in the detail too pointing out the precision of where the oak floor meets the stairs and the simple line of white that highlights them both.
St Clement's Old School
For Jonathan, of Manchester based Q2 Architects it was an interesting project. He said: “St Clements Old School is a beautiful building with fantastic original features. It is always a challenge working with historic properties but the new, modern interventions here really enhance the quality and character of the existing building.”
There has been understandable local curiosity about what has been going on inside this much loved old building and while Chris has been happy to show people round the work in progress he did not want to launch them for sale until they were all complete and everything, right down to the loo roll holders, were in place.
The show home has been furnished by Manchester firm NoChintz but it also includes many treasures Chris has amassed over the years, like the signs from once infamous streets from the Crescents in Hulme.
Chris explained: “My brother lived in one of the flats while at university and as a 13 year-old I would travel up from London to stay with him. It was an interesting time. He was actually one of the last to leave and as he went I decided to take the street signs with me. They are an interesting part of Manchester’s history.”
St Clement's Old School
He is having an open day this Saturday to show off the scheme to potential buyers but the prices are as breathtaking as the houses and if achieved will elevate Chorlton above Didsbury on the house price ladder.
The show house, the biggest of the four at 2,300sq ft is for sale at £765,000. In Didsbury the similar sized detached houses at The Square achieved £650,000.
The other three at St Clements range from £550,000 for the smallest, £650,000 for an end unit with a wonderful glass landing and £725,000 for the right hand space which has two staircases and a great first floor living space with original intricate windows.
Each house has its own private outside space behind with a stable door arrangement in the fencing so you can be neighbourly or not depending on your mood and one car parking space.
“I wanted people to see the finished buildings before we talked about prices,” says Chris. “I could have set a budget but I love the building and wanted to make homes that I would want to live in myself. It’s probably not a very good developer way of looking at it but I hope when people see them, they feel the same way as I do.”
Anyone is welcome to attend the open day this Saturday 21 April from 10am-4pm, refreshments and entertainment will be provided. It’s worth going just for the staircase.
Click here for the website.
Pictures are courtesy of @HaydnRydingsPhotography.
You can follow Jill Burdett on Twitter here.
St Clement's Old School
21
St Clement's Old School
St Clement's Old School
St Clement's Old School
St Clement's Old School
St Clement's Old School
