A prominent church in the centre of Tunbridge Wells has been sold at auction for £900,000.

Auctioneer John Stockely, from Clive Emson, said: “There was a great deal of interest and we had a number of bidders determined to buy it.

“This led to a bidding war and a final sale figure that was £300,000 above the higher end of the guide price.

“There were half a dozen really serious bidders as well as others who never got a chance to raise their hand due to the speed to the interested parties’ increased bids.”

The Vale Royal Methodist Church was among 145 lots sold by land and property auctioneers Clive Emson on Monday

The church was opened on June 3, 1873, to a design by London architect Charles Bell. The gothic-style building in London Road. It falls within the Royal Tunbridge Wells Conservation Area and is on the town’s local list of heritage assets.

Made of ragstone, bath stone and granite under a slate roof by local builders Willicombe and Oakley, the church has a lower ground-floor level where there is a meeting hall, once used as a school room, and ancillary rooms.

The building contains a number of stained glass windows which were added in the 1930s.

The Methodists had struggled to meet the cost of maintaining the building. In 2012 they applied for permission to demolish it and rebuild a smaller church with 14 flats above. Permission was refused by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

The church has been empty since last Easter last year, when the congregation moved out to share the United Reformed Church in Mount Ephraim.

The identity of the new owner and his intentions have not been revealed.