A Suffolk Manse that used to be home to church pastors has been sold, with the money set to fund improvements to a church building, including community facilities.
The four-bed property in High Road, Trimley St Mary, has been sold subject to contract through estate agents Fenn Wright with offers in excess of £400,000 and the money is set to be used to refurbish the former Trimley Free Church building.
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The Free Church, Manse and surrounding gardens are owned by the Mary Dains Charity, which funds a variety of projects in the village.
The charity was established after Mary Dains, a wealthy resident of the village, left a large amount of money in her will for the improvement of the village, especially to help the poor, upon her death in 1913.
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The charity's chair Peter Hill said the Manse used to be a home for ministers with the free church, but had not been used since the last pastor to reside there, Derek Court, left two years ago.
He said the property had since fallen into a state of disrepair and the decision was taken to put it on the market, with the building now set to become a family home.
As well as refurbishing the church for the community, it will also be a base for non-conformist Christian religious activities, while some of the money from the sale will be used to build new almshouse bungalows on the remaining land for local people.
"In order to give the charity a future, we decided to sell the Manse and we will reinvest the proceeds in renovating the chapel and Trimley Free Church and build some almshouses on the residual land we will not be selling," Mr Hill said.
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He explained the decision to sell the Manse was taken because the charity's finances were in a poor state when he took over the running.
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