The Wesleyan Chapel - demolition of rear section 2016
The rear half of the Hope church on the corner of Queensway in Higham Ferrers was demolished by the team from Mick George who moved on to the site in early March 2016. A. P. Jones, builders of Kettering, have been given the task of making the former Methodist Church building, safe, secure and watertight. The building will then remain empty for about two years. A fund raising campaign will take place c2018, for the building being improved and brought back in to use. The work will be then carried out after the job has gone out to tender.

2022 update :

“Hope” is a very small word that has so many bright prospects for our future, and the Methodist church on the corner of High Street, and Queensway in Higham has had a major transformation which started in the spring of 2016.

The Weslyean chapel that was built by local firm Robert Marriott back in 1902, for the princely sum of just over £6,000,and was formerly opened a year later in 1903.

When Covid-19 allows, the church will resume the weekly activities of clinics, Keep Fit, Hope’s Tots, Thursday Group, Girls’ Brigade, Friday Lunches, Pilates, Rushden Classical Music Society, Higham Ferrers Learning Group, Coffee Mornings, Bible Studies and Prayer meetings. All activities will then move to the ground floor of the renovated building.

All was looking good in the late Summer of 2021, with exterior brickwork and slab work taking place. At the time of my visit the Rev Lesley Dinham, did make a mini tour of inspection with some of her friends.

A hearing loop system has been added to the building, also Eco-friendly underfloor heating from a heat source pump, on the roof solar panels are waiting for the sunny days, all helping to keep the running costs down.

Hope for us all.

We can see the funding target that would need to be reached in one of our early shots.

Higham Ferrers Mayor Cllr Tina Reavey, Rev Lesley Dinham, and Mayor or Rushden Melanie Coleman joined an eager bunch of worshippers for opening in early December 2021. Just in time for Christmas worship, in what was at the time, a Covid affected world.

Now everything is completed, the the “Hope” is still there.