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Wesley's Chapel
Wesley's Chapel (originally the City Road Chapel) is a Methodist 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, the founder of the Methodist movement. The site is a place of worship and visitor attraction, incorporating the Museum of Methodism in its crypt and John Wesley's House next to the chapel. The chapel has been called "The Mother Church of World Methodism".
Along with the associated Leysian Mission, Wesley's Chapel is a circuit of the London District of the Methodist Church. As of 2018[update] the chapel had an average service attendance of about 320 worshippers. As of 2023[update] the circuit membership is 447.
In 1776 Methodist leader John Wesley applied to the City of London 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 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, where he first preached on 11 November 1739.
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 status and is a fine example of Georgian architecture, although it has been altered and improved since it was built. For example, the original plain windows were replaced with stained glass over the course of the 19th century. In 1864, the gallery was modernised, its front lowered and raked 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. (There is a memorial stained glass window dedicated to Pocock.) The foundations were reinforced, the apse 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, but these were replaced by French jasper pillars donated from Methodist churches overseas. Only the top section of the original three-decker pulpit survives. An organ 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 (including the original communion table 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 and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The present communion rail was gifted in 1993 by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was married in the chapel in 1951.
The chapel has always been served by two or more ministers, and local preachers lead services on occasion. The first woman to preach in Wesley's Chapel was Agnes Elizabeth Slack, in 1926.
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.
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Wesley's Chapel
Wesley's Chapel (originally the City Road Chapel) is a Methodist 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, the founder of the Methodist movement. The site is a place of worship and visitor attraction, incorporating the Museum of Methodism in its crypt and John Wesley's House next to the chapel. The chapel has been called "The Mother Church of World Methodism".
Along with the associated Leysian Mission, Wesley's Chapel is a circuit of the London District of the Methodist Church. As of 2018[update] the chapel had an average service attendance of about 320 worshippers. As of 2023[update] the circuit membership is 447.
In 1776 Methodist leader John Wesley applied to the City of London 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 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, where he first preached on 11 November 1739.
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 status and is a fine example of Georgian architecture, although it has been altered and improved since it was built. For example, the original plain windows were replaced with stained glass over the course of the 19th century. In 1864, the gallery was modernised, its front lowered and raked 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. (There is a memorial stained glass window dedicated to Pocock.) The foundations were reinforced, the apse 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, but these were replaced by French jasper pillars donated from Methodist churches overseas. Only the top section of the original three-decker pulpit survives. An organ 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 (including the original communion table 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 and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The present communion rail was gifted in 1993 by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was married in the chapel in 1951.
The chapel has always been served by two or more ministers, and local preachers lead services on occasion. The first woman to preach in Wesley's Chapel was Agnes Elizabeth Slack, in 1926.
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.