High House Chapel and Weardale Museum

Built in 1760, High House Chapel holds services every Sunday, making it the oldest still in continuous weekly use. John Wesley visited 13 times, and in 1772 witnessed an incredible revival of the work of God when the 'Fires of Methodism' took hold among the lead-mining population.

The 266 members then at High House accounted for over a quarter of the membership of the whole Dales Circuit.

In mid 2019 the last Sunday service was delivered after almost 250 years of continuous use. The future is bright however, as the Trustees of the neighbouring Weardale Museum have recently bought the chapel with the aim of restoring it and opening it up to the public as an exhibition space.

Weardale Museum is a small, volunteer run, independent folk museum operating to award-winning standards from the adjoining manse building. It has displays on local history, including a beautiful tapestry in five embroidered panels.

Click here to read more about the Methodist Tapestries Project.

The Wesley Room contains a large collection of Methodist memorabilia, displays about Wesley's visits and the work of the early evangelists, additional information about the Primitive Methodist revival in Weardale in the 1820s and the story of the 1788 Methodist Subscription Library, set up in nearby Westgate.