ANOTHER chapel in a North-East dale, once a hotbed for Methodism, will close in the next month.

After months of speculation, Weardale Methodist Circuit, in County Durham, has agreed to the closure of the 180-year-old chapel at Wearhead, at the top of the dale.

A final service at the chapel, which is a grade II-listed building, will be held at 2.30pm on Sunday, October 9.

In its heyday, when Methodist founder John Wesley visited the dale, the chapel at Wearhead was packed with lead miners, quarry workers and their families. From 1833, it was home to a successful Sunday school.

In recent years, congregations have continued to dwindle until only a handful of people have turned up for services.

The Reverend Les Hann, Methodist minister for the dale, said: "There have been rumours about the future of the chapel for some time, and the circuit has now reluctantly decided it will have to close."

Mr Hann now presides over seven Methodist congregations in Weardale, although there are only six chapels left.

He shares his congregation at Rookhope with the Church of England after they agreed to an inter-denominational link-up.

The closure of Wearhead chapel follows a similar move at St John's Chapel earlier in the year.

The chapel there was put up for sale, but an offer by private buyers for the property has been withdrawn and it will be re-advertised.

Mr Hann said he hoped that the Wearhead chapel may be converted into affordable housing, which is badly needed in the dale.

He said: "A representative from a rural charity has already looked around the building and we are hoping that it can be converted into some form of housing, possibly flats.

"The only problem is that it is a listed building and the planners will want to look at that before allowing any development."

The closure of the chapel is particularly poignant for Mr Hann because he preached his first service there after he arrived in the dale from the Shetland islands eight years ago.