Above the front door of Glebe House is a plaque engraved in Latin with the words: “Peace to all those who come inside.”
That phrase has stuck with Simon Graham, the owner, since he and his family moved into the former Church of Scotland manse in Kippen, Stirlingshire, in 2004. The village is nine miles west of Stirling and 20 miles north of Glasgow.
“It has always been something I have thought about,” he says. “The house must have seen all manner of people who would come in and talk to the minister over the years.”
Built in the late 18th century, Glebe House has been home to a variety of clergymen. Shortly after the Grahams bought it, however, tradespeople could be counted as the most frequent visitors. With a proliferation of small rooms on the ground level, in particular the kitchen, pantry and scullery, the conservation architect Lorn Macneal was employed to reconfigure the floor plan to open up the space.
Macneal, who counts the restoration of the Dunmore Pineapple, an 18th-century folly in Stirlingshire, among his past projects, created a light-filled living zone that includes a double-height dining area with a Linn audio system built into the ceiling. A glazed wall frames the Carse of Stirling and Ben Ledi, and the space also has concealed storage, a log-burning stove and a garden terrace. The kitchen, which has solid-oak units, gives way to the utility room. The downstairs bathroom has a Finnish sauna, Welsh slate flooring and mood lighting.
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For sale through Savills for offers of more than £850,000, Glebe House also has five bedrooms, a sitting room, drawing room and dining room. There is an office suite on the second floor.
Outside, the Grahams planted 120 roses to create a more formal garden. A courtyard leads to a traditional outbuilding, which has lapsed planning permission, as well as a three-car garage.
