ONE of Blackburn’s oldest churches, which closed due to a decline in worshippers, is up for sale.

St Mark’s Church, in Buncer Lane, Blackburn, has appeared on Rightmove website, and is valued at £125,000.

The building, the former Feilden Estate family church, was built between 1836 and 1838 in a Romanesque style, with later alterations made in 1870 and 1881 to 1887.

According to Rightmove, the building is predominantly made of stone under slate roofs with a churchyard lined with trees and is ‘considered suitable for a variety of uses’.

When the Grade II-listed church was earmarked for closure in 2013, The Venerable John Hawley, Blackburn’s archdeacon at the time, said the decision was made due to a declining attendance, which stood at 35 to 40 weekly worshippers.

The range of uses the site could be used for, without extra planning permission, include children’s nursery, social centre, medical surgery museum, school, health centre or art gallery.

On the Rightmove website, a spokesman said: “The church is located within a popular residential Blackburn suburb with open outlooks across Buncer Lane to Witton Country Park, tand the campus of the adjacent high school/technology college, fringing the Witton Park sports field complex.

“The range of uses which fall within this class include children’s nursery, social centre, medical surgery, museum, school, health centre or art gallery.”

A closed Church of England Church is sold under legal provision known as a pastoral scheme, which empowers the church commissioners to sell the building for a specific use.

A spokesman for Blackburn Diocese said: “We are open to all approaches regarding the former St Mark’s Church which has been on the market for some time.

“We will look carefully at offers made to ensure the best possible future for the building.

“We hope it can be put to good use as it is in a popular residential suburb, near Witton Country Park.”

The church was founded by the Feilden family, who were the largest landowners in Blackburn at the time.

For more information regarding buying the building, visit www.rightmove.co.uk.