There is excitement in Headcorn this week with news that the community has successfully swapped contracts to buy the redundant 150-year-old Methodist Church in the village.

The church was closed for worship in January 2021 due to a dwindling congregation and there were immediate fears the building could be lost to a property developer as its trustees put it up for auction.

Villagers have come together to form the Heart of Headcorn campaign group with a view to buying the building, which dates from 1867, as a center for community use.

The nearly two-year campaign has had many twists and turns as the group first sought to have the church listed as a community asset and then to raise funds – but now all the hard work has paid off.

Last Thursday, as part of a settlement reached by Girlings lawyers, Heart of Headcorn, which is a registered charity (CIO), exchanged purchase contracts with the trustees for the purposes of the Methodist Church, which owns the building.

Completion is within a month.

Bella Mansfield, spokesperson for the Heart of Headcorn, said: ‘It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but we are grateful that this building can now begin to serve the local community again.

But before the church can be opened for use, Heart of Headcorn will need to make essential repairs, including a hole in the roof. It should take at least another month.

They may be hoping to open to the public at Christmas.

Organizers have already received numerous requests from community groups wishing to meet in the building, including three musical groups, a parent and toddler group, a drama club, dog training, a philosophy society , creative writing groups, a youth club, exercise classes for people with mobility issues, a sustainability project, and bereavement and loneliness support groups.

They also plan to organize courses covering basic computer science, mathematics, functional thresholds, English lessons and employability training.

The building will also be used to display some of Headcorn’s historical archives, with support from the Local History Society.

Ms Mansfield said: “We invited our Methodist friends back on a Sunday morning knowing that without Methodists this building would never have existed!

The purchase was funded by Headcorn Parish Council who took out a public works loan to fund the deal and by several other grants.

The group had already received numerous individual donations and had raised funds by organizing events such as the Headcorn History Pageant and a Community Silly Walk, as well as a singathon with villagers posting videos of their own musical performances on YouTube.

Ms Mansfield said: “I think the huge support we received for the various fundraising events helped convince people that we were serious about our ambition.

“We owe everything to the people of Headcorn who have supported us from the beginning and kept the faith during the most difficult times.”

Fundraising continues to help defray the cost of repairs and renovations to the building.

A flea market will take place on Saturday November 5 at the Headcorn community hall, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A new Heart of Headcorn website is about to go live and will provide details of room rentals, links to company websites, signposts for support services and even budget recipes for families in difficulty.

Treasurer Michael Rice admitted: “We didn’t know if we would ever see this day.

“We launched our Go Fund Me campaign with just £5, but Headcorn is a special place where anything is possible.”