Wesley’s Chapel & Leysian Centre

This was a wonderful place to worship Sunday morning. My family (2 adults and kids ages 11 and 9) enjoyed the communion service at 9:45. There were believers from all over the globe in that small room singing their hearts out. The service, preaching, and setting were wonderful (pews the earliest Methodists sat on). What made it best of all, though, were the people. This congregation must see tons of visitors, but they take the time to make you feel like you belong. That’s a rare and special gift.

The other review brilliantly covers the tourist side. I’m more interested in the worship side.
Every service I’ve been to here has been brilliant — well executed liturgy, intelligent preaching, good music, and a profound sense of the spirit of God. The people are welcoming from many nations, and this is traditional Methodism at its finest.
Of note in the church are the communion rails donated by Baroness Thatcher — you may wish to avoid or partake, depending on your ecclesiology as well as your politics.
The 9:45 Eucharist on a Sunday is a 40 minute service, with hymns and homily, in the Foundry chapel. Simple, effective, and a lovely place to worship on a Summer’s morning.
All in all, recommended to those who want to experience a different and distinct strand of London Christianity.

Not a great tourist destination, unless you’re Methodist, perhaps. However, we have a fascination with little known spots and serendipitous vistas. Wesley Chapel was built under the supervision of the great evangelist, John Wesley, and it still has portions of his pulpit. In the basement, you can make use of washrooms with toilets built a century ago by a Mr. Crapper (this from the pious elder on duty!). In the neighboring four-​story home of John Wesley, you can sit on the chair he had made to allow him to simulate galloping (a big spring under the seat) when he missed his horse-​back tours in the countryside. But most stunning to me was the view from his office window. From there, when his brother, Charles, the most prolific poet in the English language with some 6000 poems to his credit, would visit, one could see the grave of Isaac Watts, the other great English hymnwriter. What a serendipitous moment. For Christians or historians, this is lovely visit. No fee, but donations invited.