Old and new

Historic home: Essex. Old St Michaels, Braintree. Old St Michaels was built in 1837 as a union workhouse, but was soon converted to a hospital. Accommodation wings were segregated according to classes of inmate. Developer City & Country Group has restored the property to make full use of original details, producing 79 homes that would defy the imagination of the original occupants. Prices range from £142,500 for a one-bedroom flat to £325,000 for two bedrooms with a double height living area and mezzanine floor.
City & Country Group, 01376 335800
Photograph: City & Country Group

New: Perthshire. This New England style home was built on the banks of Clunie Loch, Carraig Mhor, about 15 years ago. Set on top of a hill in seven acres, it has three paddocks, a wooded copse and stunning views. The wood cladding gives the four-bedroom house a cosy, light feeling compared with the granite properties usually found in Scotland and it even boasts verandahs and a sun room at the back and front. Offer more than £580,000.
CKD Galbraith, 01738 451111
Photograph: CKD Galbraith

Old: Dorchester. Beauvoir Court is the tithe barn to a 15th-century Benedictine Abbey in Cerne Abbas, but is itself believe to date back more than 1,000 years. Its substantial build is believed to have foiled attempts to destroy it when it was set on fire during the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It has been carefully restored to a mixed use live-and-work dwelling, with stable block, paddock and further detached barn. For sale at Countrywide Property Auction in London on 30 June with a guide price of £750,000.
Palmer Snell, 0843-318 1756
Photograph: Palmer Snell

New: Plymouth. OK – this Grade I-listed building is old on the outside, but the inside has been converted by Urban Splash into 86 brand spanking new apartments incorporating modern skylights and glass screen divides to give a very contemporary feel. Mills Bakery is part of the Royal William Yard, a former Royal Naval victualling yard. The Yard’s basin is a fully operational marina from which a waterbus will run to the Barbican on an hourly basis. Available through Rent to Homebuy for people earning less than £60,000. Prices start at £174,000.
Urban Splash, 01752 254 604
Photograph: Urban Splash

New for older: Oxfordshire. Retirement villages are still quite a new concept in the UK: communities for people aged 55 or more, established in purpose-built villages. The Letcombe Regis development, near Wantage, includes a spa with pool, gym and lakeside restaurant all set in a beautifully landscaped surrounding. Tailored care is available for those who need help with daily living requirements, and a care home provides nursing and dementia assistance. Independent living apartments cost from £295,000 while assisted living apartments start at £240,000.
Richmond Villages, 01235 773970
Photograph: Richmond Villages