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Grosmont church to close after 150 years
GROSMONT Methodist Church is to close this month after a century-and-a-half in a rural village that was once a thriving centre of heavy industry.
The present minister, the Rev Stuart Gunson, describing the closure of the church as the end of an era, recalled its history dating from the mid-19th Century.
A Methodist group was formed in Grosmont in 1854. A chapel was built in 1867 and a large schoolroom was added in 1914.
At that time, Grosmont was a centre of the ironstone mining industry, with a very different aspect from its present one.
Mr Gunson said: "The Methodist Church was very much a part of its busy-ness and its life with both a large congregation and Sunday School.
"Over the years the population of the village has reduced and the change from manufacturing to tourism has altered its character.
"As the village has contracted, so too has the size of the Methodist Community.
"That contraction has continued and since 2004 the schoolroom has been the only building in regular use. In 2008, the chapel closed as a place of worship and the congregation continued to meet in the schoolroom.
"The buildings have been used less and less, the congregation has continued to decrease and in October 2009 the difficult and sad decision was taken to cease worship in Grosmont.
"More than 150 years of faithful witness and service to the Grosmont community will be marked by a special service on the evening of Saturday at 6pm.
"On Sunday morning, the congregation will gather for its final service and celebrate Holy Communion together."
Mr Gunson will continue to serve the Methodist Church in the Whitby area for the next two years but then intends to retire to North Lincolnshire, where he and his family belonged.
As the church building is not listed the planning authority, the North York Moors National Park, would be unlikely to object to a change of use.
The building, constructed from local stone with a slate roof, could be converted to a house.
There are a number of restrictions on its future use including that it must not become a small brewery, now becoming popular in country areas.
The restrictions include that it cannot be used for the manufacture, supply or sale of intoxicating liquor, nor as a public dance hall, or in connection with gambling, nor for trade on Sundays and it cannot be used for any religious purposes without the consent of the Methodist Property Office.
In recent years, the church's congregation has amounted at times to only five people and often none in winter.
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Weather for Whitby
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
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Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
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