Heritage Now

8   HISTORIC BUILDINGS & PLACES FEATURE FEATURE A future for Methodist chapels? Since 1990 British Methodist membership has plummeted by almost two-thirds, from around 425,000 to 164,000. While church numbers in Brit- ain have been declining generally, the Methodists’ downward spiral is significantly greater than oth- er denominations. Additionally, the demographic of church membership is ageing – in many con- gregations the active early-retired are the ‘young people’. However, the number of chapels has not fallen proportionately, declining from 6,919 to 4,374 (in 2018) – less than a one-third decrease. Although similar issues face other denominations, the figures show that the mismatch facing Meth- odism is more acute. It follows that, even disregarding the pandemic, a substantial reduction in the denomination’s building stock is inevitable. Unsurprisingly the situation is not that simple. The trajectories of membership and chapels, the people and the buildings, do not run parallel, nor are cause and effect always directly related. At the start of the 19th century, for instance, Methodism was build- ing for future expansion, so numbers of chapels outstripped membership growth – or rather, the buildings anticipated hoped-for projected in- creases. In many cases that was justified, in some it never came about. When the major Methodist sub-denominations united in 1932, the resulting Methodist Church of Great Britain had some 14,000 chapels. Predom- inantly through local unions, eliminating much denominational duplication, that had already halved by 1990. The British Methodist Build- ings website (see Further reading) demonstrates High House Chapel is being redeveloped and will form a major part of a new museum and heritage centre. (Weardale Museum) In the wake of declining congregations and challenges faced by re-using historic buildings, Peter Forsaith , research fellow of the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History at Oxford Brookes University, explains the challenges ahead for Methodist chapels.