John Wesley. after his conversion in May 1738, and feeling his heart ‘strangely warmed’ through the love of God travelled the country spreading the gospel in open air services. Those travels brought him to Colehill and to Wimborne. The name ‘Methodism’ had come from the careful and methodical way that both John and his brother Charles Wesley were in their ways
and for their caring and preoccupation
with social welfare.
In the late 1700s a house was rented in West Borough by John Parsons and Methodism had its own first ‘chapel’ in the town. Residents preferred that they didn’t worship there and the group moved to Colehill but subsequently a new and dedicated Wesleyan Chapel was built in the Cornmarket in 1820 (see image above) - another move to a Wesleyan Church was made in 1869 to King Street and this again was replaced in 1967
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was a Methodist and conducted evangelistic meetings in the Methodist Church in Wimborne in the very early 1900s.
Town Map
