Charles Wesley & Family - The Memorial Garden of Rest, Marylebone High Street, London, UK
N 51° 31.319 W 000° 09.104
30U E 697592 N 5711720
Charles Wesley and his wife were buried here when a church existed in this location. The obelsik used to stand over his grave but was moved when the church was demolished and the garden created.
Waymark Code: WMHWY3
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/21/2013
Views: 4
At the base of the memorial, on its east face, is inscribed:
In 1950 this monument was
removed from its original
position in the graveyard
and finally placed here in
1952
Above this, on the main body of the plinth, is inscribed:
Here lie
the remains of
the Revd
Charles Wesley, MA
who departed this life
the 29th March 1788
aged 80 years.
With poverty of spirit blessed
Rest happy saint in Jesus rest.
A sinner saved through grace forgiven
Redeemd from earth to reign in heaven
And labours of unwearied love
By thee forgot are crownd above.
Crownd through the mercy of thy Lord
With a free full immense reward
On the south face of the main body of the plinth is inscribed:
In memory of
Sarah
wife of the Revd
Charles Wesley, MA
who departed this life
the 28th of December 1822
aged 96 years.
Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord for they rest from
their labours and their works
do follow them.
On the west face of the main body of the plinth is inscribed:
This mounument was erected
ADMDCCCLVIM
by the Methodist Conference
to replace the stone
originally covering
this grave
and which has decayed
In token of their
reverence and respect
for the memory of the Revd
Charles Wesley, MA
brother of the Revd
John Wesley, MA
the founder under God
of the Methodist Connexion
On the lower part of the north face of the plinth is inscribed:
Also of
Samuel Wesley Esq
The emminent musical composer and organist
their second son
who died in October 1837
aged 74 years
Above this on the main body of the plinth is inscribed:
In memory of
Charles Wesley Esq
son of
the before mentioned
Charles & Sarah Wesley
who departed this life
the 23rd of May 1834
aged 77 years.
The
BBC website tells us about Charles Wesley:
Introduction
Charles Wesley is best known for his prolific hymn writing, his poetry and
for being one of the founding fathers of the Methodist denomination of
Christianity. He wrote more than six thousand hymns, of which a handful
remain in modern day worship. He wrote the words to And can it be, Christ
the Lord is risen today and Love divine, all loves excelling.
The Wesley family
Charles was born on 18th December 1707 in the Rectory of the isolated
village of Epworth in Lincolnshire. He was the 18th child and youngest son
of the Revd Samuel and Mrs Susannah Wesley. Only ten of their nineteen
children survived infancy. His father, a priest in the Church of England,
although very conscientious, had firm views on how people should behave and
serve God. As a result he was treated with hostility by some parishioners.
His poor judgement in financial matters led to Samuel spending time in
prison for unpaid debts. Charles would later express the impact this had on
him through his ministry to prisoners.
It was Charles' mother who had the greatest influence on him. Susannah gave
the children their early education. Charles and his older brother John
learnt from her to be methodical as she instilled in them the self-control
and routine in study and in daily prayer and devotions which characterised
them in later life.
Education and influences
In 1714, John won a scholarship to a school in London. Charles joined him in
London two years later, attending the school where their eldest brother,
Samuel, who also paid for him, was teaching. In 1720 John went to Christ
Church, Oxford, and Charles followed him in 1726. John was ordained in 1725
and he later returned to Lincolnshire for two years to assist his father.
While John was away, Charles and several other students applied themselves
diligently to study and religious duties. On his return, John became the
leader of these earnest, devout young men, forming what became known as the
Holy Club.
The group met regularly for worship and carried out charitable work,
visiting the sick and imprisoned. Their methodical ways led to fellow
students nicknaming them 'Methodists'. During the late 20s and early 30s, as
the number of 'Methodist' groups in the colleges grew, John began to
formulate the foundation of the Methodist beliefs, notably that salvation
was for all, and that all should strive for 'Christian perfection'. This is
the belief that conversion is the beginning of a road to be explored, after
which the believer should continue to seek Christian holiness and growth
rather than remaining static at the point of conversion.
In that period Charles befriended George Whitefield, who later became a
great evangelist and played a pivotal role in getting John Wesley to preach
in the open air, thus launching the Methodist movement.
In 1735, Charles was ordained as a priest and travelled with John, who felt
called to be a missionary in the new colony of Georgia. During the
four-month voyage the Wesley brothers were much influenced by the serene
faith of Moravian Christians. In Savannah, Charles served as the secretary
to the Governor, General James Oglethorpe, but was not prepared for the
resistance to his message. Exhausted, disheartened and depressed, he
returned to England within a year, and a similarly dispirited John returned
a few months after.
Later life and legacy
Spiritual renewal
Both brothers went through a period of spiritual depression, but were helped
by conversations with Moravians in London. Whilst both thought themselves to
be Christian, each went through an experience of renewal - Charles on what
he called a Day of Deliverance on Whit Sunday, 21 May 1738 and John three
days later.
Charles' preaching style became transformed. He felt renewed strength to
spread the Gospel to ordinary people and it was around then that he began to
write the poetic hymns for which he would become known. It wasn't until 1739
that the brothers took to field preaching, under the influence of
Whitefield, whose open-air preaching was already reaching great numbers of
Bristol colliers.
The Methodist style was to take the word of God to people, wherever they
were, rather than try to get them into a church to hear it. The numbers of
converts grew and were gathered into 'societies' to nurture their faith.