I want to permanently delete my Facbook page but unfortunately a few people I know use Messenger which I would like to keep access to. How do I do this?
You can't, but you can do a global change to all your posts and set the privacy to "just me", change the security options so nobody can find you etc. What happened to cause your facebook meltdown?
Nothing serious. I have always thought Facebook was a waste of time with endless 'hilarious' videos, pictures of people's breakfasts and meaningless aphorisms. However I was persuaded to have a FB page to promote a side line I have [selling honey]. I was swamped by a tsunami of trivia and pretty much unfollowed everyone so there's no need to have it
Just don't open it. Use the messenger app and ignore the Facebook app. Your sideline should be a page and so you shouldn't be getting swamped.