A CHURCH in rural Herefordshire which closed down during the coronavirus pandemic is now for sale.

Ewyas Harold Methodist Church, in the Golden Valley, shut its doors for good in August 2020 amid the age and falling numbers of the congregation.

Minister Jon Chesworth wrote in a local magazine in September 2020 that it was with great sadness he announced the church's closure.

"This was a decision that members had been considering for some time, but the Covid crisis and lockdown has brought matters forward with the thought of reopening being a burden due to age and illness of the dozen or so people who attended," he said.

Hereford Times: Ewyas Harold Methodist Church is for sale. Picture: Sunderlands/Zoopla Ewyas Harold Methodist Church is for sale. Picture: Sunderlands/Zoopla

"The chapel folk over the years played a full role in the life of the village offering Sunday worship, travellers tales and Saturday pop-ins.

"Whilst the chapel is now closed and will be eventually sold, the former members will continue to worship and serve in the other local churches and be linked with the Methodist churches at Garway Hill and Madley.

"In the life of the church, buildings come and go. What suited the needs of one generation may not be the same in the ones that follow.

Whilst the closure of a building is a sadness, bringing to an end many long and happy memories, it is also the celebration a job done and mission completed."

For sale by tender with Sunderlands, the Zoopla listing for the church said the chapel stood at a roadside location alongside the B4347 on the edge of Ewyas Harold.

The main chapel was originally constructed around 1870 and is constructed of solid brick under a slate roof.

Hereford Times: Inside Ewyas Harold Methodist Church. Picture: Sunderlands/Zoopla Inside Ewyas Harold Methodist Church. Picture: Sunderlands/Zoopla

An extension was built on the side in the 1940s, with the chapel currently having three rooms.

"The pre-planning notice states that it is unlikely that planning permission for residential development could be obtained on the site apart from the two adjoining owners at Forge Cottage and The Rydings," the agents said on Zoopla.

"Any prospective purchaser should make their own enquiries in relation to this.

"The agents are in receipt of a letter from the Methodist Circuit confirming that the chapel is no longer needed by the church."