John Wesley the founder of Methodism preached at Brentford
over a period of 50 years and recorded his visits to the town
in his dairy. Although Wesley preached in many places around
the country Brentford was particularly convenient for him since
it was on the road between his bases in Bristol and London. His
diary mentions Brentford 27 times. The first entry for 19 April
1742 reads: At noon I preached at Brentford and again about seven
in the evening. Many who threatened to do terrible things were
present but they made no disturbance at all, Brent ford's Methodist
community seems then to have fallen into abeyance since in 1760,
Wesley thought there would be disturbances as a considerable number
of rude boisterous people were gathered together for that purpose
But again his fears were unfounded and the populace 'calmly and
silently attended his word. When he visited Brentford in 1786 he
found the Society had almost dwindled to nothing and he asks what
have we gained by separating from the church here? The last diary
entry concerning Brentford was on Sunday 28th Feb 1790 when Wesley
notes that the congregation there was the largest he ever saw so
that it seems our labours even here will not have been in vain In
the earlier years Wesley preached in a room situated on the north
side of the High Street near North Rd then at what he describes as '
the large place newly fitted out' which is thought to have been some
where near St Paul's Rd From 1783 the Wesleyan Methodist community
used a former Presbyterian chapel at ferry lane before moving in
1811 to a meeting room then church in St Paul's Rd In 1864 a new
four square Wesleyan chapel was opened in St Paul's Rd. This handsome
building was used only for Sunday schools and later offices once a
new Methodist church was built at the corner of Windmill Rd and
Clifden Rd in 1890. The new church was damaged during World War II
restored in 1951 but replaced with the present Clifden Rd church
in 1964 (this incorporates a window from the old church behind the
altar) After Wesley's death in 1791 the Methodist church subdivided
into various factions one of these the Primitive Methodist were
meeting in a school room in Brentford in 1843 a committee room in
Ferry lane in 1847 and in the Primitive Methodist Hall, New Rd by
1869. In1897 the Jubilee Chapel was built in New Rd (the building
is still there but now used for storage) and in 1964 the Primitive
Methodists joined the Wesleyan Methodist in Clifden Rd.
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