TEN new homes on the transformed site of a disused 19th century convent in York have been sold for £2.6m.

The properties include nine modern apartments in two historic Gothic Revival style, Grade II-listed buildings and one new-build property, The Orchard House, at the former St Joseph’s Convent, Lawrence Street.

Created by award-winning developer, Northminster Ltd, York, the properties have been sold by York estate agents, Hudson Moody, for between £175,000 and £350,000.

Just four properties remain available.

The original ecclesiastic buildings, which lay disused for six years before Northminster Ltd acquired the site in 2018, are The Extern, which dates from 1874, and The Lodge, from the following year.

As The Lodge and The Extern are Grade II listed, each apartment features its own lay out and size to retain historical features.

Most have their own front door and outside spaces, with access to a communal garden.

Original sign writing discovered behind boarding on the convent gates has been restored to create a unique entrance to the development.

Construction was by York-based Elvington Park Building Services Limited (EPBS) and managed by construction and property consultants, LHL Group, York, which also designed the scheme.

Northminster managing director, George Burgess, said: “It has been an outstanding achievement by all involved to conclude these sales and achieve practical completion of this exciting revitalisation of part of York’s ecclesiastic history.”

LHL Group managing director, Richard Hampshire, said: “This was another Northminster project with challenges including a difficult site access, a stringent budget and working within listed building constraints.

“The pandemic struck around the original completion date but, with a great deal of strategic planning, we re-sequenced the programme, adopted safe working practices and maintained enough progress to enable handover of the first homes just after Easter.”

St Joseph’s Convent was founded in 1864 and the original buildings were built between 1870 and 1874.

The convent housed 40 Poor Clare Colettine nuns, an enclosed order, during the 1940s, but numbers declined and the convent ceased to be viable due to rising costs.

The remaining eight sisters moved to a smaller York property in 2012 so the site could be redeveloped.