THE closure and sale of the church hall in Stanhope continues to attract conversation.
The article published in the Weardale Gazette a few days ago resulted in accusations of inaccuracy and indeed some local folk contacted Rev Holdsworth who had given an explanation of what he understood the story to be. Rev Holdsworth has contacted the Gazette to say that if anyone else would like to speak to him about the church hall or the future of St Thomas church, he would be delighted to hear from them.
The Gazette has had the pleasure more than once of meeting this new vicar who has overall responsibility for four churches in the Stanhope Parish and he is a man who listens, is genuine and also works very hard to bring the word of the Lord to the people. If you would like to contact him, do so via email at
As for the matter of the smaller hall, occupied for many years by Durham Constabulary and acts as the Dale’s police station, the Police and Crime Commissioner has responded to our questions regarding the sale of it, which was included with the larger church hall sale. The Gazette asked what the future holds for a Police presence in Weardale.
PCC Joy Allen said: “I know how important it is for local policing to remain in the heart of our communities and I will work with the Chief Constable to ensure that any future plans do not affect operational policing or the service provided to residents.”
In the meantime, the initial phase of work on the reordering of the church is nearly complete. It is planned to celebrate the re-opening of the church for worship on Sunday October 25th at 10am with a Benefice Joint Service. Please try to be there if you can!
