High praise

After converting a run-down gospel hall into a unique 1930s-inspired home-complete with geodesic dome - Alice Deuchar and Daniel Schamroth pronounced it a resounding succes

Photographer Alice Deuchar and her musician husband, Daniel Schamroth (known as Shammy), were despairing of ever being able to buy their own home when they came across a disused gospel hall that had just come onto the market in the small Devon town of Bradninch.

"We're both self-employed and the mortgage offer had fallen through on a chapel conversion at the start of the pandemic," says Alice. "We only had enough money to buy a tiny flat, and so were looking for a renovation or conversion project in the area." P The couple had searched for a while without finding anywhere they liked but were the first people to view the former gospel hall, designed in 1930 by Sir Oswald Archer, which was later used by the Salvation Army. "The last service was held there about four months before, but the building was in a sad state, with carpet stuck over floorboards and dead flies everywhere," recalls Alice. "Despite its dilapidated condition, I instantly fell in love with the light and space, and we were lucky enough to have our sealed bid accepted."

PLANNING THE SPACE

The derelict lower-ground floor meeting room and toilets were damp and hadn't been used in years but overall, the brick building was dry and solidly built, with a fairly new flat roof.

Using CAD software to play around with options and draw up the plans herself, Alice could quickly envisage how to make best use of the large double-height hall and smaller rooms at the rear.