SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — A stone castle isn’t what you typically imagine for a beach home, but this whimsical church-turned-medieval structure nonetheless sits in plain sight just a block from the ocean and is a go-to rental for those from off.
Mugdock Castle, as its owner Vince Graham named it 20 years ago, was originally a church when it was built in the 19th century. Graham decided to purchase the building in 2002 with the intention of moving it to Mount Pleasant. But when plans fell through he rolled with the punches. Instead, he renovated the neglected stone building into a livable home, cleaned out mold, added a turret and now rents it out almost year-round.
Celebrities such as Justin Timberlake and his wife, Jessica Biel, have vacationed there. Actors Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively stayed there with family ahead of their 2012 wedding at Boone Hall Plantation.
The historic part of the building was the original Church of the Holy Cross, Graham, president at I’On Group, told The Post and Courier. Its cornerstone was laid by the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina in 1891. The intent was to replace the Grace Church on Sullivan’s Island, which was destroyed by Union forces during the bombardment of Charleston.
The government took over the property in August 1905, paying the diocese $6,000 or roughly $220,000 in today’s dollars through eminent domain. The diocese then took the money to build a new church a few miles east at 2520 Middle St.
The Sullivan’s Island building then was repurposed as the Army Post Chapel until 1947 when Fort Moultrie was deactivated. St. Mark’s Lutheran acquired the building next, using it until it outgrew the space and relocated to Isle of Palms.
Around 1972, the chapel was deconsecrated and turned into a private home, Graham noted.
He contracted the property in 2002 when he and Rev. John Burnwell, the then-rector of Holy Cross, planned to move the entire building to I’On and restore it as an Episcopal Church.
When Sullivan’s Island Town Council blocked the move, Graham decided to purchase it himself. He paid $640,000 for the property on Nov. 20, 2002, according to county deeds.
“I bought it because I had non-refundable earnest money I was going to lose,” he admitted. “I closed and immediately put it on the market because what the heck do I need a church at the beach for?”
Graham began looking into the property and studying its history, and it changed his tune.
“It had this old world charm to it so I took it off the market,” he said.
The structure had not been occupied for two years when Graham purchased it, and he said it suffered neglect and heavy mold damage from water intrusion.
With the help of a number of artisans, including local master carpenter Dennis DeVore, master mason Alex Skellon, artist Sean Ahern, designer George Holt, and cathedral-trained mason and stone carver Simeon Warren, Graham began restoring the building a year later.
His team removed the 1970s-era A-frame addition, added a turret to the former belfry to get a higher view of the water, and peeled off all the sheetrock to reveal the old stone walls.
“I named it Mugdock — after an ancestral family castle built in the 14th century north of Glasgow, Scotland,” he said.
Charles Drayton, director of planning and zoning for Sullivan’s Island, said the building’s history as both a Gothic Revival church and later part of Fort Moultrie, which still stands and is a major tourist attraction on the island, is what makes it so important to preserve.
“It was the church for the fort before it was deactivated, and that’s in essence why the town finds it to be so important,” he said. “It’s a unique architectural style on the island. It doesn’t fit any of the other architecture… so it’s eye-catching in that way.”
That the castle doesn’t have a setback, sitting right up on the street, Drayton said is also a very “unique characteristic” for a Sullivan’s Island property.
Renovations wrapped in 2004 and Graham said he and his family moved into Mugdock, where they made it their primary home for the next six years.
Upon moving out in 2010, Graham decided to add onto the castle with a six-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath addition in the form of a Romanesque keep. Andrew Gould designed the addition, with construction by Madigan Projects.
Mugdock ever since has been a rental property where people stay anywhere between a month or even years, Graham said.
“Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively lived there for a while,” he said. “They got married in Charleston and stayed there with their family.”
Graham still uses it from time to time between long-term renters and continues to make enhancements to the property.
“With an old building, there’s always something that needs fixing,” he said.