CRAMMED full of stunning period features, this former school building is the latest evidence of south Manchester's runaway property juggernaut.

For a cool £1.25 million, the new owners of the Chorlton property will live in the lap of luxury and own a piece of local history. Nestled in affluent Chorlton Green, St Clement's Old School, which was originally a church, is the most expensive house ever in the trendy south Manchester district.

Dating back to 1879, the period property, which has retained its original arched and stained-glass windows, is currently a family home, but estate agents say it could be turned into mews houses and put to commercial use as well. The four-bedroom house, formerly a Church of England school, covers a whopping 5,000 square feet and has a 50ft lounge. It also has two porches, an enormous reception room, two bathrooms and, on the first floor, two large main chambers measuring 32ft and 20ft respectively.

There is currently no planning permission to convert and possibly enlarge the old building, which would be left to the buyer to arrange.

Harry Ignatowicz, Chorlton branch manager for estate agents Jordan Fishwick, which is overseeing the sale, said: "This is a truly spectacular property and the first £1 million-plus house in Chorlton. There has never been anything like this sort of interest in a house in Chorlton that I can recall. We've already had a lot of interest from potential buyers and we've had quite a few viewings since it was put on the market two or three weeks ago. Most of the building's fabric is original and the period features are stunning. The property could be turned into anything. The likelihood is that it will be residential with scope for additional commercial use. It's so big you could ride a bike around it. It's a massive place which lends itself to anything. There is certainly potential there for it being split into mews houses with mezzanine floors."

While the old school building may have ushered in a watershed on the Chorlton property market, but the south Manchester district still lags behind its near neighbour Didsbury in terms of house prices.

The most expensive property on the market in Didsbury is Park End House, a stunning Victorian property which is for sale at £1.45 million. Dating back to 1897, Park End House went on the market just before Christmas last year and has garnered a huge amount of interest from potential buyers. In West Didsbury last year a four-bedroom terrace was sold on Leopold Avenue for £335,000, thought to be the highest sum anyone has ever paid for a terrace in south Manchester.

In Levenshulme, two houses converted into seven flats went on the market for £400,000 last year. In Northenden a luxury two-bed apartment on Brunnington Road is on the market for £309,950. The converted manor house went on the market four weeks ago. The most expensive property in Burnage, a three-bedroomed semi-detached house on Errwood Road, sold for £250,000 in 2005.

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