Eighteenth-century Surrey was sparsely populated and there are no references to John Wesley's visiting Kingston. But in March 1760 Lloyd's Evening Post reported that a 'terrible riot' precipitated by a Methodist preacher had to be controlled by Iniskilling Dragoons. The Kingston society was at first attached to the Hammersmith Circuit and the first chapel was built in 1836 on an isolated part of Canbury Fields. Baroness Burdett-Coutts attended worship there and was a generous patron to the society. It was replaced in 1862 by a larger chapel on the Kingston Hall Estate, succeeded by the Eden Street Church and then the Fairfield Methodist Church. Vigorous mission work undertaken by society members and Richmond College students resulted in new WM chapels in New Malden (1868, replaced 1933), Kingston Hill (initially in the temporary 'Iron Church' taken over from the Anglicans; then in a new London Road church, 1886) and Surbiton (1876).

A PM society took over the former WM Canbury Fields chapel, then erected a chapel in Richmond Road, Kingston (1872 and 1914). Open air services were led by PM missioners J. Smith, Thomas. Batty and Robert Key. The work of mission bands from Croydon resulted in chapels at Norbiton (1871) and Surbiton (1879).

Entry written by: NM
Category: Place
Comment on this entry