Thurcaston Methodist Chapel

In the 1720s John Wesley preached on many occasions in Markfield, where, being a friend of the Rector, he was invited to speak in the Church itself instead of in the open air. It is also known that as an old man, he preached at Mountsorrel and it is told that Thurcaston people travelled to hear him there, with the result that they were motivated to start holding their own meetings, probably in their own homes. When a 300 year old cottage on Mill Lane, Thurcaston, came up for auction in a bankruptcy sale in the 1820s it was bought for £25 and opened as a Wesleyan Chapel in 1824. The deeds of the building have several signatures and waxed thumbprints, and include one dignitary of the time, John Biggs, whose statue stands in the city of Leicester.

This is one of the smallest places of worship in the country and can only accommodate 30 people. Two weddings have taken place there (in 1986 and 1989) but burials are conducted in the more spacious Parish Church

(This section is based on information from Margaret Fowkes and Paul Stubbs.)