Further backing sought for historic church building transformation

An appeal has been launched to help furnish a new community and concert hub for North Yorkshire including with hand-crafted, heritage pieces.

The Wesley Centre, a significant landmark and Methodist church building in Malton, has been undergoing a conversion into a community hub.

The restoration project, managed by a team led by local resident and former mayor of the town, Paul Emberley, aims to preserve the building’s heritage while enabling it to serve the wider community for generations to come.

After securing more than £2m for the restoration works so far, the Wesley Centre is now raising funds for furniture, commissioned from Thirsk’s furniture maker, Treske, including 250 audience chairs by Howe, used in cathedrals and other great places of worship – and a suite of sanctuary furniture, used for church worship.

Spearheaded by a campaign launched in 2016, the community helped save the Wesley Centre from permanent closure after structural issues with its roof were discovered, and it was put up for sale twice, with no buyers.

Following consultation, which highlighted a lack of community spaces in Malton, a plan was developed to transform the Wesley Centre into a multifunctional space.

It will feature a 600-seat concert hall, a café, and spaces for conferences and events, while continuing to serve as a place of worship on Sundays.

Paul Emberley, project lead for the Wesley Centre, said: “In its more than 200-year history, the building has been at the centre of our market town, and we want to revitalise and continue that, creating a building that supports tourism, can have a vibrant arts scene, generates income and jobs, and brings the community together.”

The restoration works to date have been funded by the Methodist Church in Great Britain, Government grants, other grant-making trusts, personal donations, and some loan finance.

Works have included the core restoration and updating of the large main space, including roof repairs and turning the north wing into commercial office space to generate income for the centre.

Justin Bartlett, managing director of Treske, said: “It’s a privilege to create bespoke pieces for the Wesley Centre. It’s more than function, it’s about respecting the centre’s spiritual heritage and its community values.”

The sanctuary furniture for the Wesley Centre will include a communion table, reading desks, and dark red leather kneelers, all crafted from American Black Walnut.

Emberley added: “We have used local restorers and skilled heritage workmanship throughout the build from our beautiful herringbone oak flooring, stained glass restoration, and now bespoke furniture from one of the finest Yorkshire furniture makers.

“We’ve achieved so much by securing more than £2m for our project so far – and we’re enormously grateful to all our benefactors.  We’re now asking for help with this unique furniture appeal.”

Work on the final phase of the project to reinstate a three-storey annex attached to the rear of the Wesley Centre will start as soon as additional funds are available.

The fully accessible “east wing” will contain more community meeting spaces, a new professional catering kitchen for banqueting, and more toilets on each level, all served by a lift.

The Malton Wesley Centre will fully re-open the current phase, its restored large main space, in November this year.