 The chapel was forced to close in 1985 |
A dilapidated chapel in Stoke-on-Trent has won a place in a national television final which could see it restored to its former glory. The Bethesda Chapel won the Midlands heat of the Restoration campaign which is calling on the public to vote and help to save one historical building.
The chapel was chosen in a public vote over a coffin factory in Birmingham and a mill in Derbyshire.
It will join nine other regional finalists in the televised final on BBC2, which will be held at the Tower of London in September.
Emergency repairs
The chapel was built in 1819 and became the central place of worship for the Methodist New Connextion.
Over the years the congregation dwindled forcing the chapel's final closure in1985.
The chapel was subsequently sold to an off-shore company, Keyland Ltd, in 1986 which planned to turn it into a disco but the company's application was turned down and no further commercial use could be found for the building.
It began to rapidly deteriorate despite the council spending almost �30,000 on emergency repairs and will cost �1.6m to restore.
John Yates, English Heritage's Historic Buildings Inspector, said he was delighted with the news but said they would double their efforts to secure some funding for the coffin factory.
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