A Brief History of Methodism

   Methodism emerged in the mid-eighteenth-century as a revival movement within the

  Church of England, led by John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield and other

  clergymen. It spreed rapidly through the new industrial areas, including the mining

  communities of South Wales, County Durham and Cornwall. The movement is perhaps

  best characterised by Charles Wesley's hymns, the evangelistic preaching of the Wesleys

and Whitefield, and the formation of societies, classes and bands for the spiritual development of local members.

Methodism frequently courted controversy, over theological issues, church discipline, and the style of its worship. Relations with the Church of England were severely strained by John Welsey's decision to ordain several ministers to serve in America in 1784. Shortly after his death in 1791, the relationship was officially severed. The nineteenth-century saw much division within

Methodism, with the establishment of many breakaway groups, while overseas work

flourished. The main groups were reunited in 1932, forming The Methodist Church as it

exists today. The Anglican-Methodist Covenant, signed in 2003, set out a desire for

increased unity between these two Churches.

Methodism has a long history in Caerphilly, in 1742 Groeswen Chapel was the first

Methodist place of worship to be built in Wales, under the direction of Hywel Harris of Trefecca. John Wesley is known to have preached at Watford Chapel in 1742, on one of his many visits to South Wales. The present Wesley Methodist Church, Crescent Road, was opened in 1930, originally as the Wesleyan Chapel, while Beulah Chapel on Pontygwindy Road was the Primitive Methodist Chapel. Both places of worship co-existed after Methodist Union in 1932, until the closure of Beulah in 2003.