'Cathedral of the Potteries' chapel gets new life

A 19th Century Methodist chapel that fell out of use as a place of worship and into disrepair will have a new life as a centre for education and events.

Stoke-on-Trent's Bethesda Methodist Chapel, which dates back to 1819 and is known as the "Cathedral of the Potteries", is being sold to Re-Form Heritage.

The chapel closed for worship in 1985 after congregations dwindled and has been owned by the Historic Chapels Trust (HCT) since 2002.

HCT is being wound up and its estate dispersed, but trust chairman Chris Smith said the building would have an "exciting and wholly new life".

He said: "It is with great regret that HCT has to bring its long involvement with Bethesda to an end. But since the building must pass into the hands of others, we are absolutely delighted that the new owner will be Re-Form Heritage."

Re-Form Heritage chief executive Dr Alasdair Brooks said it was the organisation's first major project under its new status as heritage development trust for Stoke-on-Trent.

"We're grateful to the Historic Chapels Trust for showing confidence in us as the building's new custodians," he said.

The two-storey Grade II*-listed chapel, which seated 2,000 people, is one of the largest surviving chapels outside London.

In 2003, it came fourth in the BBC's Restoration series, which saw viewers vote to award grants to listed buildings.

It is currently on Historic England's heritage at-risk register.

Future plans will see the chapel transformed into a centre where the anchor tenant would be Pinc College, which caters for neurodivergent students aged 16 to 24 - and there would also be exhibition and performance spaces.

The chapel's first-floor gallery with its organ and pews will remain.

Dr Brooks said it was hoped work would start this year after celebrations for Stoke-on-Trent's centenary are held, with completion in 2026.

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.