Wesley's Chapel

Wesley’s Chapel stands in a cobbled courtyard off City Road in the London Borough of Islington. Built in 1778 under John Wesley’s direction, it replaced his earlier Foundery chapel where he first preached in 1739. The chapel is constructed in brown brick with yellow dressings and has Grade I listed status. Its Georgian design includes a three-decker pulpit, now reduced, and a gallery with seating added in the 19th century. The sanctuary was moved forward during 1970s restoration, and the chapel reopened in 1978 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The site includes John Wesley’s House, his residence for the last eleven years of his life, now a museum. His bedroom, dining room and study remain on display, along with his Chamber Horse and electric machine. A small physic garden at the front contains herbs from his book *The Primitive Physic*. Wesley’s tomb lies in the rear garden with graves of family and preachers, and a bronze statue of Wesley stands at the courtyard entrance. The chapel’s crypt houses the Museum of Methodism, featuring Wesley’s speeches, Coke’s writing slope and Soper’s preaching stand. A Victorian gentlemen’s lavatory by Thomas Crapper survives on site. The Leysian Mission, founded in 1886, merged with the chapel in 1989 after providing social and medical aid in nearby Whitecross Street. Today the chapel serves a multicultural congregation and maintains daily prayer and sacramental liturgy. It shares ecumenical ties with local Anglican, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches, reflecting its continuing role in the community.