Twelve years ago, when the current owner of The Old Chapel first went inside, she only had one thought. "The old owners can go now... because this is mine!"

Having relocated from London, the owner and her partner had spent a year looking for the perfect home and in fact were having a break from house hunting when they saw The Old Chapel advertised in an estate agent's window. There and then they decided they had to go and see it.

Having fallen in love with the property she was a little perturbed when her partner and a friend laughed at her over the 1970s decor. "They could only see what it was... I saw what it could be," she recalls.

Their home is a former Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, which was opened in November 1869, with its first baptism the following year. Most the residents of Tong Park village attended and it had an important part to pay in the life of the village.

The chapel was paid for by the Denby family, who administered it through a family trust. They also provided an excellent library and the building was large enough for plays and concerts. In fact the first school in the village was in the chapel, paid for by members, and it continued until Tong Park School was opened in 1891.

"There are so many things I love about my home," says the owner. "It's on the edge of green belt and it's a grand house among a mix, which I like. The area is a fantastic glacial moraine (material deposited by a glacier after the Ice Age), so that it looks like it's grown out of the land and that it will be here for ever."

In fact it nearly wasn't... a tree fell on the building after a gale in 1958, and because the repairs were going to be too expensive, the chapel closed on financial grounds in 1959. After that it was used as a boat building yard and more recently became a house.

Today this is a stunning home with five bedrooms - the master having a new en-suite bathroom - a breathtaking lounge that compliments the ground floor, together with a beautiful dining kitchen and house bathroom. On the lower ground floor there is a fully fitted out workshop that leads through to a heated indoor swimming pool, while delightful and mature gardens surround the property.

"I'm not a religious person, but I find being in the lounge with its windows on three sides and its tall ceilings spiritually uplifting. It's been my sanity," she says.

Over the years there have been a number of changes made, both inside and out. "The garden is dwarfed by the house, but it is very private and we had it landscaped into a sort of woodland garden, which is maturing nicely and blends into the surroundings because there are some beech trees which are hundreds of years old.

"The December before last we had double glazing put in and it was no mean feat because it needed ten pairs of trefoil windows making.

"We also had a custom-made staircase which is two feet wider than normal put in, and a wood burning stove from Scandinavia which is environmentally friendly.

"Until we did over the master bedroom, my favourite room was the lounge which just folded itself around me. But the thing I am most proud of are the rose windows - we commissioned them from a very talented Leeds-based artist."

Based on points of the compass, the east window is based on planets and lifecyles, while the theme for the west window is based on flora and fauna from around the area.

"When the light shines through it casts a kaleidoscope of colour in the rooms that's ever-changing. I've got a catalogue of photographs that I've taken to prove it," she laughs.

She fell in love with the windows so much that she took up stained glass herself, and now uses the workshop to construct pieces of stained glass as well as hand painting furniture in an ethnic style.

"The workshop in fact could be put to a variety of uses. It could be used as offices, a home business or a games room for children or adults.

"I must confess that I've loved having a swimming pool," she adds. "I try to use it every day. In fact, I'm itching to go for a swim right now!"

In every room in this former chapel you are hit by a sense of space and light that the owner is not going to find it easy to replicate.

"I'm also going to miss the rose windows, but I can take them with me in my heart. And I do have all those photographs. Now it's time to pass it on to someone I hope will love it as much as I do."

The Old Chapel at Park Lane, Baildon, is on the market for £550,000 with the Halifax, Baildon, (01274) 591952