Savills Portugal

Homes with former lives often tell the most fascinating stories. Rooted in history yet reimagined for modern living, these unique properties have a variety of origins, from mills and water treatment plants to chapels and breweries – many within landmark buildings that form the foundation of a community’s heritage.

Such homes can be extraordinary and unusual, especially when incorporating elements of their history.

Consider, for example, an architect-designed conversion of former grain silos. This distinctive home pays tribute to its utilitarian farming roots while offering spacious, modern interiors.

On the French Riviera, a Victorian-era water treatment plant has been transformed into a contemporary, loft-style villa. Its impressive reception area is designed around the original machinery, once part of an avant-garde ozone-gas purification system.

Other examples include a remarkable example of Victorian gothic revival design in the shape of a 19th century former church, a converted Georgian brewery in Bath dating to 1821, and a former antiques warehouse which attracted shoppers like Elton John, David Frost and Joan Collins to the area.

Or if any of these homes inspire your own vision for transformation, take a look at this rare, interconnected set of photography studios in London. Occupying the top floor of a commercial building, originally a car factory, it offers sweeping views of the city skyline and potential for conversion subject to the necessary consent.

These spaces prove that when it comes to choosing a home, a storied past can be the foundation of a wonderful new future.

Take a further look at these remarkable properties currently on the market –