History
The History of Methodism in Standish cannot be accurately traced. There is, however, strong local evidence that John Wesley came to Standish between 1750 and 1760. He tried to preach to the people near to the gateway to the parish church (St. Wilfrids). Unfortunately, tradition records that instead of listening to Wesley, the people seized him, dragged him through a Malt Kiln Pit and stoned him out of the village. (Ironically, the site of the Old Malt Kiln Pit is the site of the present Methodist Church on High Street.)
In 1790 the Church Warden Accounts from St. Wilfrids record that the bell ringers were paid 2s 6d (2 shillings and 6 pence) for helping to expel visiting Methodist preachers. However, even during this incident the small number of Methodists were meeting secretly in a place known as `Engine Row`Shortly after the Methodists had been “rung out” of Standish, they took a small building in a yard off High St. and converted it into a preaching place. It was here where a society class was formed with Mr Hadfield as it's leader.
The years 1800-1850 were years of merciless persecution for the Methodists. Work was denied to them and they were ostracised by the community. Nevertheless, the work of God continued to go forward. The darker the persecution the more brightly the faith of these early Methodists shone.
In 1803 the Methodists leased a room from the Quakers at their meeting place off School Lane (now known as Quakers Place. As the Methodist numbers grew and the Quakers declined these premises were bought outright by the Methodists in 1858. (Only 2 years after the first recorded Standish Methodist Sunday School in 1856).
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