A historic church in the Hunter region has hit the market for sale via expressions of interest.
Built in 1899, the church at Glendon is positioned on a 5,856 square metre block and offers scope to build a new home or operate the property as a business venture.
Listing agent Andrew Walker from Street Property expects the property to sell for upwards of $900,000.
"This is is an extraordinarily difficult one to put a precise value on and the reason for that is because it is such a multi-tiered property," Mr Walker said.
"There might be someone who just wants to buy the block of land to build a home on and keep the church as a curiosity or there might be a buyer who wants to operate the church as a business.
"There is already initial interest in the region of $900,000."
The church, consecrated St Mary's Anglican, was considered the place of worship for the original farming families of Glendon, which is located near Singleton.
It was used by the local parishioners until the 1980s but was deconsecrated in 1995.
The current owners Jessica and Christian Simmons purchased the property at 85 Glendon Lane in 2014 and renamed it Little Paddocks Chapel.
Mrs Simmons said it was by luck that she came across the church for sale.
"It was just one of those lucky things," Mrs Simmons said.
"I knew that I had wanted a church but I thought that I would have to find one and move it to land because they are so rare to find.
"I Googled at the right time and there it was, the church for sale."
The Simmons have close ties with the property.
Their grandparents are both laid to rest in the cemetery adjacent to the property and the couple held their own wedding on the grounds in 2016.
"We were married in the church as was my husband's brother, and locals married there over the years," she said.
"There would have been hundreds of weddings and christenings, and funerals held there over the years."
Preserving the history of the church and sharing it with the community has been the couple's passion since they took ownership almost a decade ago.
Mrs Simmons said they intended to build a home on the land and operate the church as a wedding venue but those plans were put on hold due to ill health when she underwent a kidney transplant.
"I was on dialysis for five years and I couldn't really run it the way I wanted to," she said.
"I didn't know if I was going to be around much longer, so I couldn't book a wedding in because they book so far in advance.
"So I didn't get to run the church the way that I had hoped because I didn't realise I was going to be sick for so long."
In the meantime, she continued her dream of sharing the space with others by running affordable photo shoots at the church for weddings and at Christmas time to create special moments captured in the building that could live on.
The photo shoots became a tradition for families in the region.
"I have a team that works with me and we do this as a gift, none of us earn money out of it," she said.
"We wanted to share it because a building like this, you never really 'own' it, it is meant to be shared and that's what we did.
"That has been a really special part of owning this property.
"We have had 500 families through for photos this year and that's 500 beautiful pictures on their walls in their homes and for me, that is how the legacy continues.
"People got to use the church."
Mrs Simmons said she is sentimental about the sale.
"We have absolutely loved owning it," she said.
"It is a surprise for us that we are selling because I honestly never thought that we would, but life changes.
"I want someone with a dream of their own to buy the property and I don't mind what their dream is, I just want them to have one and want it to come true for them.
"I want the church to be preserved because I am sentimental about it."
The sale offers many possibilities to build a new home, accommodation or the addition of a reception centre to complement the chapel (STCA).
"It is so unique and I know that it's fashionable for people to buy a church and make it into holiday accommodation these days but to see it humbly standing there alone in the paddock is such a delight," she said.
The property is open for inspection on Saturday and Sunday at 1.30pm.
