About

Bring your group to discover John Wesley's New Room, also known as “the room that changed the world”.

Experienced guides can help bring Bristol’s History and Methodist heritage to life as you tour the New Room and Charles Wesley’s House. 

The museum tour and accompanying talk explore the significance of John Wesley's New Room as the oldest Methodist building in the world and illuminate the work begun by John and Charles Wesley in Bristol, which then branched out to America, South Korea and across the world. The Wesleys' work was an integral part of Bristol’s history, of Methodism and of Christian ethics and activism in general. 

While smaller than The New Room, their second site, Charles Wesley’s House, which is located within walking distance, was home to John’s brother Charles, known today as one of the world’s greatest hymn writers to have lived. You may have heard his popular Christmas song ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" The site offers a glimpse into home and family life in the 18th Century, while you learn about a family of musical prodigies. 

With both John Wesley’s New Room and Charles Wesley’s House to explore, you can be guaranteed a rich afternoon of heritage and discovery. 

Key selling points for groups

• Tours to John Wesley’s New Room put you right in the heart of Bristol City Centre, while still being close to major travel routes and within walking distance of a coach drop-off/pick-up point. This is ideal for groups looking to visit multiple locations in a day. 

• John Wesley’s New Room also offers tour groups the option of visiting Charles Wesley’s House, which is normally closed to the public. Located only a 7-minute walk from the main site, it offers an insightful look into the history of Bristol and life in the 18th Century. 

• Plus, if you have any Poldark TV show fans coming, they’ll be in for a treat, with John Wesley’s New Room being a filming location for the iconic show! 

Useful information for travel trade

Group booking procedures 

• For all group bookings, please email the team. You will then be sent a booking form. Once the booking form has been returned, food menus will be sent if catering options have been selected. The administrator will then deal with all communications and booking details. A tour guide will then be allocated to your party, depending on the package the group would like. 

Rates and pricing 

• The New Room operates with a standard set price rate; however, packages of different scopes are available. These include options to add refreshments, full catering and tours of both John Wesley's New Room and Charles Wesley's House to name a few. 

Group sizes and event capacity 

• Minimum group size is 10, although they can accommodate smaller groups if they are happy to pay an increased rate.
• Maximum group size is 200; however, they restrict the number of people in the museum area of the site to 30 people at a time due to weigh/load limits on the historic building. To accommodate groups of up to 200, museum entry will be staggered throughout the day. We recommend a tour of both sites with larger groups, to help alleviate this issue.

Coach access and parking 

• As well as only being a 10-minute drive from the M32, John Wesley’s New Room is well located for coach drop-off, with the nearest drop-off point on Bond Street being less than a 5-minute walk from the site entrance.

Enhanced and exclusive experiences

Specialist talks on a range of Bristol history/heritage or Methodism-related subjects, given enough notice. 

If larger groups are so inclined, the entire site is also available for hire. This includes the entirety of John Wesley’s Chapel, the attached atrium, meeting rooms, museum and the peaceful courtyard. This offering is perfect for large private groups who want the whole site to themselves for the day. 

Click here to see the sustainability policy. 

Accessibility

The chapel is a Grade 1 listed 18th century building, and while it is mostly accessible, it has quirks due to the age of the building. The accessibility guide shares pictures, measurements and other helpful practical information.

The New Room team has created a visual story to help children and their families prepare for their visit by showing them what there is to see and do. Please check the accessibility page for more information.