New potential at Weardale museum after buying methodist chapel

High House Chapel, the oldest purpose built continuously used Methodist chapel, has now passed to the Weardale Museum.

The museum, a small, rural, independent folk museum run entirely by volunteers has operated from the adjoining Manse since 1985.

In 2017 the High House Chapel Fellowship were faced with prohibitively expensive restoration costs and, after months of considerations and a fundraising effort by the local community, the chapel sadly closed in September 2019.

Closure of the property could have meant the Weardale Museum needed to find another home and also left an uncertain future for the much-loved historic building. Trustees of the museum searched for other properties, eventually deciding that remaining at the chapel was their best option.

David Heatherington, long term curator and a founder member of the museum said: “Our plan means we will increase the museum floor area from around 100m2 to more than 400m2. Once upgraded, and with the addition of a proposed new build visitor centre, this will drastically expand the revenue, amenity and accessibility of the property for this unique tourist attraction and community asset.”

At the core of the museum’s future planning is an intent to broaden its offer to attract more visitors for longer periods.

To achieve this the museum is planning a diverse and increased range of exhibitions, artefacts, activities and events to ensure the centre is of interest to local or incoming tourists of all ages.

Initial planned exhibitions range from Lego models of key artefacts to a Weardale diorama model. A new flagship project, the Methodist Tapestry will attract embroiderers, stitchers and members of the faith community worldwide and the museum also hopes to transfer the Frosterley marble font to the chapel. Additionally, education projects will encourage engagement with schools; an increased number of ‘Heritage on Tour’ events to village halls, interacting with far more local people, plus a wide range of musical performances.

Mr Heatherington added: “Having increased the physical size of the museum by five-fold the project will eventually create up to seven jobs whilst remaining heavily dependent on our fantastic volunteers. In tripling our annual opening times, the centre will provide fully accessible, year-round visitor facilities”

The museum previously ran an operating schedule of five to seven days week between Easter and October with a £3 entry fee, giving access to the chapel.

Fundingraising is now the focus and the museum team hope the restoration and adaptation of the chapel will be carried out during next year with the new centre opening in spring 2022.