There are buildings that lose their identity when they are converted into homes, and there are others where the past remains written into almost every room.

Eastward House belongs firmly in the second camp.

Set among the open fields of South Ronaldsay, close to St Margaret’s Hope, this former Orkney kirk has been transformed into a substantial seven bedroom home without disguising the building it once was.

From outside, there is no mistaking its origins.

The stone frontage, bellcote and tall pointed windows still give Eastward House the unmistakable presence of a small country kirk, standing against the enormous skies and largely treeless landscape that make Orkney so distinctive.

Step inside and those ecclesiastical roots continue to shape the house.

Original window openings have become one of its defining features, bringing light into rooms that could never be mistaken for those of an ordinary modern house.

Upstairs, the scale of the former kirk becomes particularly apparent.

A substantial second living room occupies one end of the upper floor, while exposed roof timbers, high ceilings and pointed windows retain some of the drama of the original building.

One of the bedrooms makes particularly good use of the architecture, with a large pointed window framing the surrounding Orkney countryside.

The accommodation itself is extensive.

Across two floors there are seven bedrooms, several bathrooms, two living rooms, a dining room, kitchen, utility room and office, creating the sort of flexibility that could suit a large family, multi generational living or somebody looking for space to work from home.

The kitchen is practical and contemporary, with plenty of room for everyday family life, while the principal downstairs living room provides a more conventional place to retreat from the Orkney weather.

Yet it is the less conventional spaces that give Eastward House its character.

Living in an old kirk means accepting that straight lines and standard windows were never going to tell the whole story.

Here, the architecture continually reminds you that the building had another life before becoming a home.

That sense of history is matched by the landscape outside.

South Ronaldsay is the southernmost of the islands connected to the Orkney Mainland by road, with the Churchill Barriers linking a chain of islands across Scapa Flow.

St Margaret’s Hope provides the centre of everyday life nearby, with local shops, services and a strong island community, while the ferry connection from South Ronaldsay provides an important link with mainland Scotland.

The surrounding countryside has a character entirely its own.

This is a landscape of farmland, low horizons, sea and enormous skies, where the absence of mountains gives the islands a sense of space quite unlike the mainland Highlands.

The aerial photographs of Eastward House perhaps explain the appeal better than any list of specifications could.

The old kirk sits among green fields with the sea visible beyond, roads stretching towards the horizon and little to interrupt the openness of the landscape.

For anyone drawn to Orkney, that is part of the attraction.

Life here is shaped by the sea, weather, seasons and a community with roots stretching back thousands of years, yet Kirkwall and the wider services of Orkney remain accessible by road.

Eastward House offers something different within that landscape.

It is large enough to accommodate a substantial household, flexible enough to offer several possibilities for how the space is used, and distinctive enough that nobody is likely to confuse it with the house next door.

What makes it particularly appealing is that the conversion has not erased the building’s former life.

The kirk is still there in the stonework, windows, proportions and roofline.

It has simply found another purpose.

For somebody looking for an Orkney home with genuine character, plenty of space and a story already built into its walls, Eastward House offers the chance to become the next custodian of a very distinctive island building.

The property is being marketed by K Allan Properties

The asking price, full property details, photographs, floor plans, Home Report where available, and viewing information can all be found on the official listing.

Click here to view the official listing