History of the Church

The Church was opened on Wednesday 4th October 1870




One of the noticeable things about the history of the Chislehurst Methodist church is the part played by successive generations of the many families. Until economics and job mobility made it difficult for younger generations to remain in Chislehurst it was common to find three or even four generations worshipping successively at our church.

One such family was the Lines with Moses Line coming to Chislehurst in 1841 and his great grandson, David Proud, being a Poor Steward some 130 years later.

Moses started his grocers business in what was then the only property on the north side of the High Street in what is now Choi’s restaurant. Marrying the girl next door from the Queens Head, then the Kings Head, he developed his retail interests into drapery, wholesaling, tailoring, boot and shoes, and millinery. At the same time he started to make ginger beer on his shop premises which in time blossomed into the Chislehurst Mineral Water Company producing a wide range of soft drinks and minerals from a substantial factory in what is now Park Road.

Apart from the fact that together they produced 10 children there were distinct side benefits from Moses marriage to his wife Sarah. From among her brothers Moses found a skilled brewer and bottler who became his partner in the mineral water business and a builder who would have been useful in the building developments which housed Moses’ burgeoning business interests as well as his staff. Later the in-laws were to fill other positions in the growing empire.

From the humble beginnings of renting his original shop Moses came to own all the buildings on the north side of the High Street many of which can still be seen. Lines Cottages were developed in what was known as Lines Alley followed by Regent House, the three story building which became Lines Emporium. Then there was Chapel Row, a line of cottages which ran from what is now Park Road up towards Regent House. It was on the front gardens of these cottages where shops were later built and still stand.

Chapel Row took its name from the original Wesleyan chapel which was situated behind the High Street shops and abutted Chapel Lane (now Park Road). This was not the only place of worship to be built on the Line land. Signifying his friendliness with the Anglicans a chapel at ease to the St Nicholas parish was also built behind the Line premises and still to this day stands as the base for a plumbing business.

Despite the demands of his businesses and his large family Moses found the time to play a central role in the life of Methodism in Chislehurst. He was a Leader and Trustee from the time the present church was built until his death and was also Sunday School superintendent for many years. Indeed his commemorative window in the church (on the manse side) depicts his love of children.

Moses Line’s business acumen and his relationship with the owner of the Camden Estate enabled him to negotiate the gift of a corner of land on which to build the church as we know it today. He also headed the building committee set up to oversee the construction which despite a large number of setbacks saw completion in 1870.

Such was the spiritual development of the church that within a short time of completion the gallery had to be added to create more seating followed by the south transept and associated rooms at the rear including what for many years was known as the Upper Room. In the meantime Moses had negotiated the acquisition of land, this time from Lord Sydney, for the building of the manse and went on to acquire more land from the Earl for the building of a Sunday School in Willow Grove.

The growth of the new Wesleyan Church both in membership and in its buildings doubtless owed much to the respect in which Moses Line was held on both sides of the entrenched class barriers of Victorian Chislehurst. His reputed kindness and his popularity with the poorer classes was matched by his ability to curry support from the titled and landed gentry who held sway at the time.

This was no mean feat as at the time huge, and probably grossly unfair, controversy was raging over the ecumenical direction being taken by the parish church of St Nicholas and with Lord Sydney and a number of influential local grandees using their considerable influence to promulgate a low-church Anglican alternative on the Chislehurst scene.

Within a short time of the building of the new Wesleyan church Chislehurst was to see massive changes. The arrival of the deposed French Imperial family put Chislehurst on the map for the royalty, politicians, and the socialites of the time while providing a very significant boost for the local economy. Already the arrival of the railway was having an effect on the locality and entrepreneurism stimulated by the Great Exhibition had also played a part. Population was doubled in each of three ten year periods.

Despite being born and brought up in the area David Proud knew little about Victorian and Imperial Chislehurst until he started researching the life of his great grandfather Moses Line and what Chislehurst was like to live in at the time. He has uncovered a fascinating tapestry of influences and facts some of which put a new dimension on understanding what the area was like 150 years ago.

David Proud gave a lecture in the Methodist Church in support of the Methodist Church development project which proved to be of great interest to Chislehurst residents keen to learn more about its history. Equally for those who owed property or worked in the High Street and Prickend the lecture gave a new perspective on its development. Those connected with the various churches of Chislehurst, past or present, were interested in the Victorian influences on the churches of Chislehurst which can still be seen today as well as the wider events which saw many of them coming into being.


The church has lots of original features, and is well worth a visit. We have prepared a guided visit booklet about the church. To download it please click on the link below.

Guided Tour of the Church (PDF)