Old Methodist Chapel, Bilsborrow Lane, Bilsborrow, Preston, Lancashire (Grade II Listed)
Built in 1811 as a Methodist chapel, this modest but characterful octagonal building has stood as a local landmark for more than two centuries. It has however been vacant since being closed by the Methodist Church in 2021.
We were consulted on proposals to convert the chapel to residential use, involving substantial internal and external alterations. While we accepted the principle of residential conversion and recognised that some changes would be necessary to enable a viable new use, we raised strong objections to proposals to demolish almost 50% of the original external walls and to significantly alter the balanced and symmetrical principal façade facing Bilsborrow Lane.
We recommended that the applicant revise the proposals to retain a greater proportion of the chapel’s original fabric and to adopt a more sensitive approach that better respects its significance and character as an historic place of worship.
Image credit: Les Prosser via British Listed Buldings