Your spiritual home
Grade A listed former monastery is a tranquil retreat, says Paul Drury
It’s a serene suburban sanctuary, a place of retreat, yet it’s handy for commuters who want to hit the road. But one of the most fascinating aspects of Montford House is that it is still used for the same peaceful purpose it served in the 17th century.
From the 1960s the Grade A listed mansion was a monastery belonging to a little-known group of monks named after a medieval saint.
st Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort lived between 1673 and 1716 and was canonised by Pope Pius XII in 1947.
Local people in need of rest were invited to use the property in East Renfrewshire as a retreat.
In many ways it still is, having been converted into five apartments around ten years ago.
the house sits in its own tree-lined grounds just outside Barrhead.
It has since been encircled by a clutch of high-end detached villas, but this has done nothing to diminish the tranquil atmosphere of the property.
Yet within five minutes lies the M77 and the delights of the silverburn shopping centre. At the right time of day, you can easily be in Glasgow city centre within 15 minutes.
Clyde Property is marketing a two-bedroom duplex apartment for offers over £189,000.
As you would expect in a converted mansion, the layout is not exactly traditional.
the living room, kitchen and main bedroom are on one floor, while you have to climb a set of stairs to reach the bathroom and second bedroom. What some would-be purchasers might view as a slight disadvantage is more than made up for in the communal entrance to the building.
the reception hallway looks as if it has been left largely untouched since its creation in 1870.
Original parquet flooring is visible around the edge of the red carpet, which sweeps up the staircase.
the chunky ornate balustrade has been fashioned from rich, dark, wood and light bursts in through an imposing stained glass window. the exterior of the property is no less impressive, and the experts who justified the property’s status as a listed building noted the ‘crenelated parapets’ and windows with ‘square-headed hood moulds’.
they also detected the hand of prominent architect Alexander ‘Greek’ thomson on the interior.
they wrote: ‘the interior demonstrates that the architect may have had some appreciation of thomson’s work: the round-arched chimneypieces, fashionable at the time, are to be found in some thomson interiors, as are the stars and rosettes on the ceilings and cornices.
‘the geometric stencilling on the pine doors and window surrounds is in the same spirit.’
there are two other outstanding features that come built-in at Montford House and don’t cost a penny: Peace and quiet.
Offers over £189,000 to Clyde Property, Clarkston. Tel 0141 534 3777.