Dewsbury church up for sale after closure

A MUCH-LOVED Catholic church in Dewsbury which closed its doors in January has been put on the property market.
The Chickenley Catholic church sits on a half-acre site.The Chickenley Catholic church sits on a half-acre site.
The Chickenley Catholic church sits on a half-acre site.

St Thomas More Church and Presbytery in Chickenley has been put up for sale by national commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), which is acting on behalf of the Diocese of Leeds.

The church was built in the mid 1950s after the area’s Catholic community grew with the building of Chickenley Estate following Dewsbury’s slum clearances.

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People who were moved in from other areas of the town, such as Westtown and Batley Carr, found they no longer had a church on their doorstep and the community pulled together to raise the £20,000 needed to build St Thomas More.

It held its last service in January after a dwindling congregation meant its upkeep could no longer be afforded.

The predominately single storey brick church has a club room, kitchen and bar in the lower ground floor.

Its accompanying stone-built presbytery has two double and two single bedrooms, as well as a garage and both front and back gardens.

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Richard Corby at LSH said: “Subject to the appropriate planning permissions, the building is ideal for a range of commercial uses, or perhaps a lifestyle business with an artistic bent?

“Refurbished, the building will once again come to life and prove a real asset to the local community.”