Wesley's Chapel (originally the City Road Chapel) is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church situated in the St Luke's area in the south of the London Borough of Islington. Opened in 1778, it was built under the direction of

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

, the founder of the Methodist movement. The site is a place of worship and visitor attraction, incorporating the Museum of Methodism in its

crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a c ...

and John Wesley's House next to the chapel. The chapel has been called "The

Mother Church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

of World Methodism". Along with the associated Leysian Mission, Wesley's Chapel is a circuit of the London District of the Methodist Church. The chapel has an average Sunday service attendance of about 440.

History and architecture

In 1776 Methodist leader

applied to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

for a site to build his new chapel and was granted an area of land on City Road. After raising funds from across

the Connexion ''The Connexion'' is a news website and monthly newspaper for residents, second-home owners and visitors to France. It was founded in September 2002 and currently claims just over 20,000 subscribersConnexionFrance.comreceives around 800,000 uniq ...

the foundation stone for the chapel was laid on 21 April 1777. The architect was George Dance the Younger, surveyor to the City of London, and the builder was Samuel Tooth, a member of Wesley's Foundery society. The chapel was formally opened with a service on 1 November 1778. The City Road Chapel was established to replace Wesley's earlier London chapel,

the Foundery The Foundery (or Foundry), in Moorfields, was the first London foundry for casting brass cannon for the British Board of Ordnance. The building subsequently served as the first Wesleyan Methodist house of worship, and an important meeting place ...

, where he first preached on 11 November 1739. John Wesley preaching in the City Chapel

Wesley's Chapel is constructed in brown brick laid in Flemish bond with dressings of yellow brick and stone. The building has

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

status and is a fine example of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover— George I, George II, Ge ...

, although it has been altered and improved since it was built. For example, the original plain windows were replaced with

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. In 1864, the gallery was modernised, its front lowered and

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

d seating installed. Around the gallery is motif in relief supposedly designed by Wesley: a dove with an olive branch in its beak encircled by a serpent following its own tail. The Adam style ceiling was replaced by a replica following a fire in 1879. Another major refurbishment of 1891 was carried out by Holloway Brothers, collaborating with the Methodist architects Elijah Hoole and

William Willmer Pocock William Willmer Pocock (8 May 1813 – 18 September 1899) was a British architect. He was born in Knightsbridge in Middlesex, the son of the architect William Fuller Pocock (1779–1849) and his wife Fanny née Willmer. In 1865 he stood unsucce ...

. (There is a memorial stained glass window dedicated to Pocock.) The foundations were reinforced, the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

windows were enlarged to accommodate the stained glass, and new pews were installed. The pillars supporting the gallery were originally ships' masts donated by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, but these were replaced by French

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref ...

pillars donated from Methodist churches overseas. Only the top section of the original three-decker

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...

survives. An

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

was installed in 1882 and the present organ in 1891; it was electrified in 1905 and in 1938 its pipes were moved to their present position at the rear of the gallery. The location of the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

(including the original

communion table Communion table or Lord's table are terms used by many Protestant churches—particularly from Reformed, Baptist and low church Anglican and Methodist bodies—for the table used for preparation of Holy Communion (a sacrament also called the ' ...

against the wall) in an apse behind the pulpit was common in the ' auditory' churches of the 18th century, but few other examples survive today. The present sanctuary in front of the pulpit dates from restoration work in the 1970s. Among other alterations, the foundations were again strengthened due to subsistence and the roof was replaced. The chapel was officially reopened on 1 November 1978, by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

. The present

communion rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...

was gifted in 1993 by former Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, who was married in the chapel in 1951. A memorial to Susanna Wesley stands just inside the gate, and her grave is situated in

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London C ...

Burial Ground, opposite the chapel. The chapel has always been served by two or more ministers, and

local preacher A Methodist local preacher, also known as a licensed preacher, is a layperson who has been accredited by the Methodist Church to lead worship and preach on a frequent basis. With separation from the Church of England by the end of the 18th century ...

s lead services on occasion. The first woman to preach in Wesley's Chapel was Agnes Elizabeth Slack, in 1926.

Image gallery

File:Wesley's Chapel during Wikimania 2014 by-RaBoe 68.jpg, Apse File:Wesley's Chapel during Wikimania 2014 by-RaBoe 81.jpg, Gallery and pulpit File:Wesley's Chapel during Wikimania 2014 by-RaBoe 82.jpg, Pews, table and rail, and the organ in the gallery

The site

The chapel is set within a cobbled courtyard off City Road, with the chapel at the furthest end and Wesley's house on the right.

John Wesley's House

John Wesley's House, a mid-Georgian

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

, was built in 1779 at the same time as the chapel. It was Wesley's residence for the last eleven years of his life. He is commemorated by a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

on the City Road frontage. This

building is open to visitors as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

. It was built by Wesley and designed by George Dance the younger, at that time the surveyor of the City of London. Wesley lived in the house for the last twelve years of his life and died in his bedroom. The house was also used to accommodate travelling preachers and their families. The household servants also lived on the premises. The house continued to be used for travelling preachers after Wesley's death until it was turned into a museum in the 1900s. In the dining room his Chamber Horse is set up which he used for exercise; on display in the study is his electric machine which was used for the treatment of illness. John Wesley Blue Badge.jpg, John Wesley

John Wesley's House- Study.jpg, John Wesley's House – Study John Wesley's House- Kitchen.jpg, John Wesley's House – Kitchen John Wesley's Electric Machine.png, John Wesley's Electric Machine John Wesley's Chamber Horse.jpg, John Wesley's Chamber Horse

Courtyard, gardens and cemetery

At the front of Wesley's House is a small

physic garden A physic garden is a type of herb garden with medicinal plants. Botanical gardens developed from them. History Modern botanical gardens were preceded by medieval physic gardens, often monastic gardens, that existed by 800 at least. Gardens o ...

which contains herbs mentioned in Wesley's book, ''The Primitive Physic''. It details ways in which common people could cure themselves using natural medicines as they couldn't afford a doctor. Wesley set up the first free dispensary in London giving out medical advice and remedies at his Foundery chapel. Wesley died on 2 March 1791. His tomb is in the garden at the rear of the chapel alongside the graves of six of his preachers, and those of his sister Martha Hall and his doctor and biographer, Dr John Whitehead. A bronze statue of Wesley with the inscription "the world is my parish" stands at the entrance to the courtyard; created in 1891 by

John Adams-Acton John Adams-Acton (11 December 1830 – 28 October 1910) was a British sculptor. Life He was born at Acton Hill, Middlesex, the son of William Adams, a tailor, and Helen Elizabeth Humphreys. Two sons and three daughters survived the father. The s ...

, the sculpture is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. Elijah Hoole was responsible for the 10 foot high granite pedestal on which the statue stands.

Victorian lavatory

The site also houses one of the few surviving examples of a gentleman's convenience built by the sanitary engineer Thomas Crapper in 1891.

The Leysian Mission

Leysian Mission building, City Road, EC1 - geograph

The Leys School was opened in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1875, two years after non-Anglicans were admitted to the universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

. It was intended to be "the Methodist Eton". Dr William Fiddian Moulton, a biblical scholar and church leader, was its first headmaster. The mission was started, in nearby Whitecross Street, in 1886, by former pupils of the school who were concerned about the social and housing conditions in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have univ ...

. In 1904 the mission moved into purpose-built premises in Old Street, very near Wesley's Chapel. It provided a medical mission, a "poor man’s lawyer", a relief committee, feeding programmes, meetings for men and women, and a range of services and musical activities. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the arrival of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...

the mission disposed of the buildings. Strong links with the school remain and a scholarship allows a number of children from the city of London to attend the school as boarders. Wesley's Chapel and the mission merged on Easter Day 1989.

The chapel today

The chapel is home to a multicultural congregation with a membership of 439. It is a working church with daily prayer, Sunday

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

services and several weekday services. It is known for its relatively "

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

" sacramental

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. The superintendent minister is Canon Jennifer Smith. Wesley's Chapel is in an ecumenical partnership with the Anglican St Giles' Cripplegate parish church, Jewin Welsh

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

Church, and St Joseph's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Church. It shares a close relationship with the Friends meeting house at

Museum of Methodism

The Museum of Methodism, housed in the chapel's

, contains artefacts and relics relating to Methodism, including several of Wesley's speeches and essays on theology, the "warmed heart" "contemplative space", Thomas Coke's writing slope or desk and

Donald Soper Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper (31 January 1903 – 22 December 1998) was a British Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist. He served as President of the Methodist Conference in 1953–54. After May 1965 he was a peer in the House of Lor ...

's portable preaching stand."Museum of Methodism" leaflet, available at the Museum The museum was created in 1978 and was refurbished in 2014, with the last case being installed in early 2016 thanks to a donation. John Wesley's Death Mask.jpg, John Wesley's Death Mask John Wesley Ship.jpg, John Wesley Ship John Wesley Ceramics.jpg, John Wesley Ceramics

History and architecture

Image gallery

The site

John Wesley's House

Courtyard, gardens and cemetery

Victorian lavatory

The Leysian Mission

The chapel today

Museum of Methodism

See also

References

Further reading

External links