A former Methodist church in Swadlincote and adjoining church hall are set to go under the hammer once again three months after they fetched £200,000 at auction.

However, three neighbouring shops, in West Street, which were included in the previous sale, will not be appearing in the auction.

Included in the September event held by SDL Auctions Graham Penny was Swadlincote Methodist Church complete with burial ground and church organ, as well as its neighbouring church hall, and 10-14 West Street which incorporates three retail units with living space above.


However, the church and its hall will now appear separately in auction on Friday, December 15, at a guide price of £40,000 each, minus the shops and accommodation.

There is also a burial ground

A spokesman for the auctioneers previously described it as "a very rare and exciting opportunity to acquire a former detached Methodist church with an adjoining church hall".

The property is set on a site of approximately 0.388 acres and also includes the adjoining church burial ground. The church hall used to house the Sunday school.

The original church is believed to have been a chapel built by Wesleyan Methodists in 1816, which was subsequently enlarged in or around 1823, and further enlarged in 1837, then subsequently rebuilt in 1863.

The organ comes with the price

The building includes a pulpit, two storage rooms and a toilet, along with storage space and a room accommodating the organ.

The property goes under the hammer at 11.10am on Friday, December 15, at The Pedigree Suite, Pride Park Stadium, Derby.

Other plans for churches

Swadlincote Methodist Church is not the first place of worship to face a new future.

A former church in a village on the outskirts of Burton whose foundation stone was laid by the grandfather of the disgraced leader of the British Union of Fascists, Sir Oswald Mosley, will be turned into a home after a dwindling congregation forced its closure.

Rolleston Methodist Church, in Chapel Lane, will be converted into a five-bedroom home after plans to preserve the building for community use failed to produce any results.

Another church which became victim of a dwindling congregation will also be turned into a family home.

The Stanhope Bretby Methodist Church, in Bretby Road East, Bretby, was recently purchased at auction for £77,000 and now plans have been approved to turn it into a three-bedroom home. Plans also include an extension to the former church.

The Trinity Methodist and United Reformed Church, in George Street, Burton, closed in 2011 due to unaffordable maintenance costs and, again, a dwindling congregation. It later reopened as The Trinity, a licensed cafe bar with adjacent businesses.