The Foundery, London
For over 45 years, John Wesley's headquarters in London was the Foundery, a former royal arsenal which had stood empty since an explosion in 1716. In 1739, Wesley acquired the lease for £115, spent £700 repairing and equipping it and held the first service on 11 November. It became the home of the first Methodist society in London. It was a multi-purpose building, with two entrances, one into the preaching house and the other into the living quarters, band-room, schoolroom and book room where Methodist publications were stored and sold. There was also stabling for horses. The preaching house held 1,500, men and women separated Moravian-style. The living quarters included rooms for Wesley, his mother during her closing years, some of his preachers and a number of poor widows. He insisted on a common table for the whole family. Luke Tyerman, Life of John Wesley Vol 1, pp. 271-2: The band-room was behind the chapel, on the ground floor, some eighty feet long and twenty feet wide, and ...