The former Methodist Chapel, Belstone, near Okehampton, Dartmoor.
I am the new owner!
Not something that I had expected a year ago but after enjoying a cream tea following a Dartmoor walk last autumn, Marion who ran the tearoom in the old school room told me she was retiring and the church selling up. To cut a long story short, I met with the Superintendent Minister, through a chance encounter met Kelly who had always wanted to run a tearoom in Belstone and submitted my bid and supporting narrative.
My aim was to keep the building for community use so that the tearoom could once again be enjoyed by locals, visitors and walkers, preventing it becoming another second home or Air B&B. The church trustees selected my tender from the seven bids and after a frustratingly long legal process, the sale completed today.
The tearoom will reopen soon. I am open minded about uses for the chapel. Maybe art exhibitions, historic Dartmoor photos, additional seating for the tearoom, a small village shop, a meeting point for guided walks, with perhaps a short talk beforehand. I hope that the Methodist Church will be able to use it for occasional services too. It does not necessarily have to generate an income but uses must be appropriate for the building and the village of Belstone.
It is an honour to own this historic Dartmoor building and to be able to keep it alive for the community and despite what certain friends have suggested, my motivation wasn’t solely to ensure that I could have a cream tea after completing Dartmoor walks!
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