200 years’ celebration at Wesley Methodist Church

Celebrations are under way at Wesley Methodist Church Frome, to mark 200 years of the present church on the Wesley Slope site.
Over the coming weekend, Friday 11th May to Sunday 13th May the church will be overflowing with flowers for the Flower Festival –‘200 Years of Change’. Entry is free (donations welcome) and refreshments are available. At 7.30pm on Saturday 12th May Mr. David Bednall, sub-organist at Bristol Cathedral and internationally renowned composer and recitalist will give an organ recital on Wesley’s impressive organ. Tickets £8 on the door. On Sunday 13th May at 10.30am Rev. Stephen Poxon, a past president of the Methodist Conference, will preach at the Anniversary Service and at 6.30pm there will be a Festival Songs Of Praise introduced by Rev. Jill Warren with organist Mr. Jonathan Vaughn (assistant organist at Wells Cathedral) and The Orchard of England Brass. All the above events, to which everyone is welcome, will be held at Wesley Church, Wesley Slope, Frome. (Top of Bath Street.) There is disabled access to the building and parking is in the church car park via Park Road (BA11 1EU). Further events are planned, including: • As part of Wesley Church’s celebrations this year, there will be a 200 Anniversary Exhibition at Frome Museum opening on 6th June. This rare exhibition illustrates the history of Wesley Chapel built in 1812 at ‘Clay Batch’ (known now as Wesley Slope), the Manse and school complex on ‘Golden Knoll’, and a variety of events over the last 200 years. There will be many delightful ‘gems’ at the exhibition, particularly from the ‘hoard’ collected by Wesley’s Local Study Group over the years. Not only will there be various historical documents that have been hidden away for two centuries, but also countless captivating photos and items from the past. So a visit to Frome Museum in June is a ‘must’ to celebrate Wesley’s 200 years of treasures, including old documents, vintage photographs, and memorabilia including original deeds from 1812 – before they go to Somerset Archives. Frome Museum is situated at 1 North Parade, Frome (BA11 1AT). The exhibition will run from Wednesday 6th June to Saturday 14th July. Opening hours: 10.00am – 2.00pm Tuesdays – Saturdays. • On Saturday 9th June at 2.30pm at Wesley Church, Roger Thorne FSA will give a talk ‘200 years of Methodism In Frome’. Entry is free (donations invited). Tea and cakes available. (This event is arranged in conjunction with Frome Society for Local Study.)