Closed church on the market for £400k in Bilston
A former chapel has been put up for sale with a £400,000 price tag after being forced to close its doors due to dwindling numbers and reserves.
Despite efforts to boost attendance at Sunday services leaders at Stowlawn Methodist Church in Bilston have called it a day after six decades of worship, family celebrations, coffee mornings and music events.
The brick building, in School Walk, was built in 1956 to serve the Stowlawn estate and is being sold by direction of Trustees of the Wolverhampton Methodist Church Circuit.
The church choir was forced to fold in in 2016 due to the age of some of its members and the following year the number of regular worshippers dipped to 15, leading to an appeal to residents to 'use it or lose it'.
A crunch meeting was then held with senior bosses to make a decision over the church's future viability.
Remaining members have since transferred to other congregations in the area.
The site is being marketed by Wolverhampton agents Jackson, Lile & Close and features include an entrance hall, worship area and vestry.
It is described as: "Admirable detached church premises standing in large grounds which, subject to planning permission, could afford development potential. The property is ideal for all inter-denominations and other community based facilities."
Meanwhile, the former New Invention Methodist Church, in Lichfield Road, New Invention, Willenhall, has been sold for around £350,000 by agents Towler Shaw Roberts after being put on the market when services ceased in 2014 after a 160 years of serving the community.
This chapel was built in 1898 to cope with a growing congregation at the turn of the 20th century.
The last service was attended by more than 130 people to celebrate its ministry in the community for well over a century.
In its heyday New Invention's Sunday school was 60-children strong with sports, Bible quizzes and uniformed activities a popular draw as was common with many Methodist churches in the region.
Others to close in recent years include sites formerly in High Road, Lane Head also Willenhall, which closed in 2011 and replaced by homes; Edward Street, Reedswood, in Walsall, and three in Telford which closed due to the pandemic crisis.
