Wesley Cottage

Housed in the east wing of the former Wesley Manse, your stay will bring 21st century comfort in an 18th century setting – your refuge in a quiet residential street, but just a few paces from the shops and eateries of Epworth. The property was the first manse of the Superintendent Ministers of Epworth’s Methodist Chapel, remaining the home of the town’s Methodist Minister until 1889. At the back of the cottage is a long garden, at the east end of which is a small Methodist burial ground. The grave markers were installed by a previous owner into the chimney of the main house. Opposite the cottage was Mr Blaydes’ tanning factory. After a slump in the leather trade, the factory closed and became a store for potatoes and farm produce. In World War I, it became a shooting range for the local defence volunteers, before being pulled down in 1938 to make way for the Rio Cinema, ‘a sumptuous theatre in line with those now found in the big towns’ – Gerry and the Pacemakers, Shirley Bassey and Billy J. Kramer all treading the boards. Sadly, in 1979, a major fire gutted the property and it has been replaced with housing. In the block between the Market Place and the now Co-Op there was, at one time, six public houses. It’s no surprise that the early Wesley religion was so opposed to alcohol!