John Wesley's New Room

About

John Wesley's New Room is a historic building located between The Horsefair and Broadmead, Bristol, England. Opened in June 1739, it housed the earliest Methodist societies, and was enlarged in 1748. As the oldest purpose-built Methodist preaching house (chapel), it has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building. A Methodist museum is housed in the preachers' rooms above the chapel. The courtyards around the building contain statues of John Wesley and his brother Charles.

History and architecture: On 2 April 1739 John Wesley began preaching in the open fields at Bristol, and founded societies there. Under Wesley's direction, the building followed two months later, making it the oldest purpose-built Methodist chapel in the world. He called it "our New Room in the Horsefair". The chapel was built with a double-decker pulpit, which was common at the time, and is lighted by an octagonal lantern window to reduce the amount paid in window tax. In addition to meetings and worship, the New Room was used as a dispensary and schoolroom for the poor people of the area. The pews and benches were made from old ship timber. The Baldwin and Nicholas Street Methodist societies...