Colchester Old Heath church to be auctioned off next month

Old Heath Congregational Church, in Fingringhoe Road, Colchester, was built in 1868 but has remained unused for about a decade.

It was known as a ‘tin tabernacle’ due to the use of corrugated iron in its construction.

The property was previously put up for sale for £225,000 but is now set to be auctioned off for anywhere between £100,000 and £120,000.

Historic - The church is known as a 'tin tabernacle' (Image: Auction House East Anglia)

Mark Willett, regional manager at Auction House East Anglia, said: “It’s piquing quite a bit of interest - the church itself is one of only 84, as I understand remaining in this country.

“I think whoever buys it is going to have come up with an imaginative, sympathetic scheme.

“There will be quite a number of people looking to retain its current guise as best as possible.

"It’ll be interesting to see what someone tries to do with it and whether they get the relevant consent to do it.

“It does have residential properties either side, so that does point to the possibility of residential properties on the site.”

The auction will comes roughly three years after campaigners called for the church to be protected.

A number of attempts had been made to demolish the historic church and replace it with a more cost-effective building and church leaders had argued it needed extensive work to keep it running.

“There were plans some years ago to demolish and replace the church with a church of a different denomination, but that was declined," added Mr Willett.

“There are those keen to protect the property. Whether something can be done with it as to redevelopment – that’s speculation.

“The construction is hardly 21st century – if it was to be developed for another purpose, that would be quite a lot of menial work.

“The corrugated iron is something that isn’t recognised as a modern building material in any respect, except perhaps as a garden shed.

“There would have to be significant work to the structure.

“With no inspection, we don’t know what condition the property is in anyway.

“We’ve made some assumptions – for anyone who buys it, it’s a bit of a lucky dip.

“As auctioneers, we sell property where even we don’t have access sometimes – there’s a great element of gamble.

Upcoming - The auction will take place over livestream on September 13 (Image: Auction House East Anglia)

Old Heath Congregational Church is locally listed and a non-designated heritage asset.

A previous request for statutory listing, however, was rejected by Historic England.

A spokesman for Colchester Council added: “We will seek to work with all parties to seek the retention and repair of this important building through a sustainable new use.”

The livestreamed auction will be taking place on September 13 and start at 11am.