A preaching house was built c.1770 in nearby Widmore and John Wesley preached there in December 1772 and on two later occasions. Methodists from Widmore formed a society in a room in Bromley market place in 1816 and in 1826 Zion Chapel in the Upper High Street was opened. The population doubled in the decade after the coming of the railway in 1858 and Zion was replaced in 1876 by a large neo-Gothic chapel, itself replaced in 1965 by the present building. Bromley WM Circuit was formed from Deptford in 1866. The Rev. G. Stringer *Rowe became a well-loved member of the society in his retirement.
John Wesley's Journal:
December 1772: 'I preached at the new preaching-house in the parish of Bromley. In speaking severally to the members of the society, I was surprised at the openness and artlessness of the people. Such I should never have expected to find within ten miles of London.'
Entry written by: NM
Category: Place
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