Wesley's Chapel and House

John Wesley (1703-1791), one of the most influential personalities of the eighteenth century, is the founder of Methodism. He built Wesley's Chapel as his London base. It was designed by the architect George Dance the Younger, surveyor to the City of London and was built in 1778 by the builder Samuel Tooth, a class leader and local preacher. It stands on a site previously used as a dump for St Paul's Cathedral just outside the city of London, opposite Bunhill Fields the nonconformist cemetery. Known the world over as the Cathedral of World Methodism Wesley described his Chapel as perfectly neat but not fine. It is one of London's undiscovered jewels.

In the crypt of the chapel is a comprehensive museum which provides an excellent introduction to Methodism from Wesley to the present day. It contains one of the world's largest collections of Wesleyan ceramics and some of the finest Methodist paintings. There are also some unusual objects to be seen, like the pack of religious playing cards! To the rear of the chapel is the graveyard where John Wesley is buried

A visit to Wesley's House takes you back in time to the eighteenth century and gives you the opportunity to discover the day to day running of a small Georgian town house. Built by Wesley in 1779, he lived there for the last eleven winters of his life, when not touring to visit and preach to his Methodist societies round the country. The house also provided a home for the preachers of the Chapel, their families and servants. The house contains many of John Wesley's belongings, including his electrical machine and his study chair. His small Prayer Room is considered by Methodists all over the world to be the Power House of Methodism.

General Information:

• Museum shop
• Ramp access to the chapel, lift to museum, groundfloor access only to house