Portland's Grade II* church is no longer fully watertight and is raising £1m for repairs. Doors open 10.30am to noon on Wednesday 23 September, with tours.
Easton Methodist Church, the twin-spired landmark on Easton Square, is asking Portland to help pay for repairs to a building that is letting in water, and will open its doors on the morning of Wednesday 23 September so people can see what needs doing.
The church has launched what it calls the Saving Easton Methodist Church Heritage Appeal. Its own fundraising page puts a figure on it that the press release does not: it is headed “One Million Pounds Fundraiser for Easton Methodist Church Refurbishment”, and carries a gallery of the areas the church says need repair.
The trigger is a quinquennial inspection, the survey a specialist conservation architect carries out on a church every five years. In the press release sent to The Dorset Post, the church says the inspection identified “a number of significant repairs that are now urgently needed”, and sets out what that means:
“The inspection found that parts of the building are no longer fully watertight and that essential structural repairs are required. Without intervention, rainwater will continue to penetrate the building, leading to further deterioration of its historic fabric and significantly increasing the cost of future repairs.”
The launch morning, in practical terms
- Date: Wednesday 23 September 2026
- Time: 10.30am to 12 noon
- Where: Easton Methodist Church, Easton Square, Easton, Portland. The church gives its address as DT5 2AL on its contact page
- Who it is for: residents, local businesses, community organisations and the media, all invited
- Cost: nothing. Tea, coffee and light refreshments are served throughout
The church says the morning will include guided tours, an explanation of the restoration project and the plans behind it, a chance to look at the areas that need repair, interviews with members of the project team and church volunteers, and information on how individuals, organisations and businesses can support the appeal.
A Grade II* building, and what the official record says
The church, together with its former manse and boundary walls, has been listed at Grade II* since 17 May 1993, under list entry 1280713 on the National Heritage List for England. Grade II* is the middle of the three grades and covers buildings judged to be of more than special interest; it applies to a small minority of listed buildings nationally.
The official list description records a Methodist church of 1906, built to designs of Latrobe and Weston of Bristol at a cost of £7,000, by the builders Wakeham Brothers of Plymouth. It is rock-faced snecked Portland stone with ashlar dressings and a plain tile roof, with a twin-towered east front whose square towers carry set-back octagonal turrets and stone spires, and a central doorway in French High Gothic style with a tympanum carved with Christ in Glory.
Inside, the listing records galleries on three sides on cast-iron columns with leaf capitals, gallery fronts carrying “a repeated series of Art Nouveau tree and wheatfield decorations in cast plaster”, mosaic floors, a grand organ and case behind a tall moulded painted arch, an octagonal stone font, and a pulpit and reading desk with a Portland stone bowed front carrying a high relief carving of The Last Supper, by Mr Sheppard. Its verdict on the whole:
“A somewhat mannered design, but the robust exterior conceals an unusually rich interior, all of which has been retained unchanged and helps to demonstrate the strength of Methodism on the island.”
In its appeal material the church picks out much the same things: the carved Portland stone Last Supper work, Art Nouveau stained glass it describes as unique among local ecclesiastical buildings, a three-manual pipe organ with ornate carved casework, the mosaic flooring, and what it says is the largest seating capacity of any venue on Portland. The church’s own history page says the building seats 900 and that the congregation now numbers about 30 members.
What the building is used for the rest of the week
This is the part that makes it a repair job rather than a restoration project. The church says more than twenty organisations and groups use the building regularly, among them the Pop-Up Food Larder, Alcoholics Anonymous, Slimming World, yoga, Island Community Action, Knit and Natter, Bible study, Cafe Church, Tea and Toast and community coffee mornings. It also hosts school services, Christingle and carol celebrations.
The church’s own activities page gives the timetable and the prices, which are worth knowing whether or not you ever attend a service:
- Pop Up Larder, Wednesdays 9.30am to 10.30am: £3 for a single person, £4 for a couple, £5 for a family
- Tea and Toast, Tuesdays 3.30pm to 5pm in the church hall, free, for all families
- Cafe Church, Thursdays 9.30am to 11.30am, with low cost bacon rolls
- Coffee and bacon roll, Fridays 10am to 11.30am in Easton Methodist Hall
- Butterflies, a pre-school group, Tuesdays 2.30pm to 3.30pm
- Messy Church, Thursdays 10am to 2pm in the church hall during school holidays
- Coffee mornings, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9.30am, the Monday one run by the Salvation Army
- Sunday services, 10.30am to 11.30am
The church also says it is a designated emergency rest centre within Dorset’s resilience planning, meaning it would be a place for residents to go if one were ever needed in an emergency.
Three phases, roofs first
The church has set out the work in three stages:
- Phase one: urgent roof repairs and structural works to make the building safe, secure and watertight.
- Phase two: creating a flexible worship and performance space suitable for concerts, exhibitions, drama, music and creative arts.
- Phase three: further development of community facilities, youth work and outreach.
Rev Helen Harrell, who is leading the appeal, said:
“Easton Methodist Church is far more than bricks and mortar. For more than 100 years it has been at the heart of Portland life, serving people of every age and background. Every week the church provides a home for community groups, food support, youth activities, coffee mornings, worship and friendship. We are determined to preserve this much-loved building so it can continue serving the people of Portland for generations to come.”
How to help
The church is asking for donations, sponsorship, corporate partnerships, volunteers and fundraising ideas.
If you cannot get to the launch, donations go through the church’s own SumUp donation page, which is the link behind the QR code the church is circulating and the one its fundraising page points to.
For interviews, photography or anything to do with the appeal, the contact given is helen.harrell@methodist.org.uk. General enquiries go to office@eastonmethodist.co.uk.
What it means for you
If you live on Portland, the practical point is the week-to-week timetable above: a low cost larder, free tea and toast for families, a pre-school group and three coffee mornings all run out of a building that the church says is no longer fully watertight. Phase one is the phase that keeps those going.
If you are elsewhere in Dorset, 23 September is a rare chance to get inside a Grade II* interior that the official listing says has been retained unchanged, without paying for a heritage open day ticket. It is free, it runs for 90 minutes, and it includes guided tours. We list other days out on our things to do in Dorset page, and if you are driving down to Portland it is worth checking our Dorset roadworks and travel page first.
If you want to give, give to phase one. Roof and structural work is the part that stops a repair bill growing, and it is the church’s own stated first call on the money.
Sources: press release supplied to The Dorset Post by Easton Methodist Church, 10 September 2026; Easton Methodist Church fundraising page, activities and history pages; Historic England list entry 1280713.
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