See how grand Wolverhampton Grade II* listed church has been transformed into lavish banquet suite

Now, after eight months of hard work, the Darlington Street Methodist Church in Wolverhampton has been given a new lease of life having been transformed into a multi-faith banqueting suite and celebration venue.

The Grade II* listed Edwardian building, renamed "The Grand Palace Wolverhampton", has undergone nearly £3 million worth of renovation, reparation and rejuvenation.

It closed as a church in 2019 and had laid dormant and crumbling since.

It was purchased by Rajinder and Kamalgeet Dhinsa of Wolverhampton-based Hallmark Investment Properties in October 2021 and after going through 18 months of consultation and planning meetings with Wolverhampton Council, Heritage England and the Victorian Society, the property developers were granted permission for change of use.

Since April, the couple, alongside their two sons Gurcharn and Gurvinder, have worked tirelessly to repair the roof, remove the pews, add new flooring, rip out the majority of the chairs on the upstairs level and add new coats of paint.

The family have plunged their savings and resources into creating a modern banqueting suite, which is suitable for all types of celebrations and events and can hold up to 700 people over two floors, plus 150 people in the small adjacent hall.

The interior of the building still carries hints of its former purpose, with stained glass windows and an organ visible, and seating at the front of the upper area still in place.

However, a walk round the interior of the building shows the work that has gone into renovating it, starting in the entranceway with new carpet laid out and marble walls, with two chandeliers hanging in what has now become the arrival lobby.

Mr and Mrs Dhinsa both spoke about what work had gone into the main banqueting area, which has seen all the pews removed and donated.

Mrs Dhinsa said: "All the ceilings have been renovated, which means all the bits of moulding and casts have been replaced and we've used four pots of heritage mineral paint on the walls, which ensures it will stay that way for the next 100 years.

"The idea was to keep the heritage and the Grade star listing, but also make the very necessary changes just for the building to move forward, so the only real changes have been the removal of the pews and the tip-up seating has been levelled off for extra seating."

Mr Dhinsa said: "All of the windows are exactly the same and we haven't changed them in any way, and you go upstairs, you'll see that the staircases have changed completely, with carpeting laid down and a chandelier, plus we have kept the original features on the windows.

"When you get upstairs, there was a staging system that has been taken up to allow more space and we have added a glass balustrade as we have kept a row of the original seats on the request of the heritage society."

Other additions to the church have been suites for brides and grooms, including a shower and lounge area, and a DJ area in front of the church's organ.

The work has also seen modern and elegant toilets built for men and women, including ceramic sinks in the male toilet and gold-plated in the women's toilet, plus a large and fully equipped disabled toilet.

Mr Dhinsa said the work had been hard and expensive, but had been worth it to see how it looked now.

He said: "There's a massive difference as it looks very elite now and it's gone from the 10th-most at-risk building to an iconic building within Wolverhampton.

"We've managed to keep the aesthetic of the building and not take away from the history of it, and used every penny we've had to fund it without any external funding.

"We're also already taking bookings and while there are a few minor things left to do, we are ready to host people and could potentially host a wedding in another month or so."

Mr Dhinsa said the plan before any official bookings was to put on a charity event, working with another organisation to officially launch the venue.

He said that he was feeling very proud of what he and his family had achieved.

He said: "We feel that we couldn't have done this on our own and there's got to have been somebody behind us in all this as a lot of work has gone into this, and it was really hard work.

"It wasn't like a normal day job, but it has been different, working with the heritage groups and Victorian Society - but it's been a blessing for us."

To find out more about the Grand Palace Wolverhampton, call 07775 566126.