The Old Rectory

Posted on 24 December 2020

The Old Rectory in Epworth was the family home of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church movement.

The rectory was the Lincolnshire home to the Reverend Samuel Wesley, his wife Susanna and their 19 children, one of whom, John Wesley, grew up to become a founder of the Methodist Church

On 9 February 1708, when Wesley was five years old, some time after 11pm, the rectory roof caught on fire. Sparks falling on the children’s beds and cries of ‘fire’ from the street roused the Wesleys who managed to shepherd all their children out of the house. This was except for John who was left stranded on an upper floor, before being rescued out of a window.

The Old Rectory is a Queen Anne style building, rebuilt after the fire,  has been completely restored and is now the property of the British Methodist Church, who maintain it as a museum.

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