A HISTORIC Ribble Valley church is to be converted into homes for the elderly, after its congregation dwindled to just four.
Slaidburn Methodist Chapel will close in June after 200 years and be redeveloped into sheltered housing.
Manchester Methodist Housing Association was given the go-ahead for the conversion last year.
At its peak, the chapel had a Sunday congregation totalling more than 100, but numbers have steadily fallen and maintenance of the building is no longer considered viable.
A spokesman for the Clitheroe Methodist Circuit said: "It is with reluctance that we have agreed to bring to a close the long history of Slaidburn Methodist Chapel, but we have no other option."
The congregation will be asked to join Paythorne, West Bradford, or Waddington Methodist Churches, or use an annex at Slaidburn Parish Church at the invitation of vicar Mark Russell-Smith.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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