ON a quiet lane leading from a village to a hamlet in beautiful Redesdale, the Mission School is a character property that is steeped in history.

It was built in 1853 by the Church of England in order to educate children of the working classes, then was used as a church hall and Sunday school venue before its conversion to a home in 1998.

“We bought it after the conversion was finished and haven’t needed to do much to the house other than general maintenance,” said Terry Dalglish, who lives in the Mission School with his wife, Jane.

“It’s extremely well designed from the original single room and is tremendously well insulated. It has double glazing all around, some windows are triple glazed, and it’s draught-free.”

The Rede runs alongside the house, but doesn’t present a flooding problem, Terry said, as the house is at at much higher level. “It’s a salmon river – we’ve seen them jumping – and we have a regular heron visiting who sits on a rock watching the water.”

The Mission School has an entrance porch with the original stone-flagged floor and a stable door to the sitting room.

This is a large room at almost 26ft by 14ft and has a beamed ceiling, solid wood flooring, exposed stone walls and an inglenook fireplace with stove.

“This is my favourite room,” Terry said. “Visitors almost invariably say what a lovely, atmospheric, welcoming room it is. We felt that when we first came to view the property, it just has a wonderful feel.”

An inner hall leads to a shower room, double bedroom currently used as a study and the dining kitchen.

This is another large room with dual-aspect windows providing lovely views. It has attractive, exposed stone walls and solid wood flooring, a recessed range and floor units with integrated appliances.

There are two double bedrooms upstairs, one with an en-suite bathroom and lovely views over the river, the other with a range of fitted wardrobes and additional eaves storage.

At the back of the house, a porch with flagged floor opens to the garden. This has been created by Terry and Jane, who bought half an acre to extend their property with a garden and car parking area. It also has a large decked area, ideal for entertaining while taking in the views over open countryside.

Terry said: “The garden is mainly to lawn, with a centrepiece of conifers in different shapes and colours, and borders. There’s no maintenance at all really.

“It’s beautiful there in the early evening, sitting with a glass of wine – there’s no noise. We’re in the valley and have beautiful views all around us. It’s very quiet and peaceful.

“The lane outside is not a through road and not busy at all, it serves about 10 houses in East Woodburn and we get tractors for the farms further on.

“The garden has woodpeckers, siskins, all the birds you would expect, and we used to have a red squirrel coming for his morning and afternoon feed on the bird feeder. The tree he used to get to the feeder was cut down, so he doesn’t come any more. We miss him.”

The Dalglishes are moving to be closer to family – and the golf club – “a wee bit further south,” Terry said.

“It’s going to be a real wrench to go, we love it here,” he added.

“We’ve been here for 18 years – the longest we’ve ever stayed anywhere, but we just love it so much. We’ve only stayed a maximum of six years in our other houses. It’s an overused word, but it really is idyllic here.”

The Mission School, East Woodburn.

Character home, £325,000.

Rook Matthews Sayer (01434) 601616.