TWO East Lancashire churches are to close because of dwindling and ageing congregations.

St James ‘Church Kirk’, in Hyndburn, dating from 642 AD, with a medieval tower, will shut its doors later this month.

St Bede’s, in Nelson, founded after the First World War at the request of local people, will close some time next year.

The news that two places of worship are to be lost has saddened church leaders, politicians and their congregations.

Bishop of Burnley Philip North has warned that more churches may have to close as the Church of England in East Lancashire responds to changes in population and patterns of worship, but he said each closure was a matter for the congregation, not for the Diocese of Blackburn.

Bishop Philip, who will take the final service on Sunday, November 22, said the part-medieval Grade II-listed Church Kirk and 800-year-old tower were simply too expensive to repair and maintain.

It will be replaced by a new congregation at the nearby St Nicholas’ Primary School in St Nicholas’ Road, Church, on Friday evenings, aimed at younger worshippers and families.

Older, more traditional High Anglican worshippers at Church Kirk, in St James’ Road, Church, will be welcomed at churches nearby.

Hyndburn council Labour leader Miles Parkinson described the closure as “disappointing” and his Tory predecessor, Peter Britcliffe, said it was “very sad”.

St Bede’s, in Railway Street, no longer has a big enough congregation to justify the upkeep of the building constructed in 1929.

It worshippers will be welcomed at the nearby St Paul’s Church, in Halifax Road, the main centre of Little Marsden Parish.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said the closure was a “sad” event and hoped a suitable new use could be found for St Bede’s.

The campaign for a new church in Clover Hill, in Nelson, was started in 1912 by the Church of England Men’s Society branch at St Paul’s church.

The current church building was completed in 1929 at a cost of £5,691.

Bishop Philip said: “It is always very sad when we have to close a church, especially a historic building like Church Kirk.

“It is also a time of excitement as we are launching a new congregation on Friday teatimes at the nearby St Nicholas school hall.

“This is a very old building in very poor repair. It would cost £100,000s to repair.

“We shall now look for alternative uses as the best way to save the tower and the building.

“We shall carefully look after all Church Kirk’s artefacts and sacred items.

“St Bedes’s has a small, ageing congregation in an area of changing demographics.

“They have decided and voted to close the building and the congregation will merge with St Paul’s.

“No date for this has been set.

“In some areas changing demographics and the close proximity of church buildings mean that churches need to close.

“As part of our long-term strategy, Vision 2026, we are also committed as a Diocese to opening 50 new churches over the next ten years in new areas, and areas where church life is weak.”

Church Kirk PCC chairman Doug McCallum said: “We accept that the church had to close.”