Westminster Oxford Research Network

08/04/2026

Newly added to our Digital Collections: Rules of the Band Societies Drawn up Dec. 25 1738!

This document is believed to have been acquired by F. F. Bretherton, and is now in the Wesley Historical Society's archive.

Wesley Historical Society: Archival Collection (WHS 2) Ref. 262.972 MET

04/02/2026

Join us via Zoom on Saturday 21st February at 11am UTC/GMT for our next Heritage Talk. Social Historian Dr. Tom Dobson’s talk will be "What did you do during the War? Westminster College and the impact of warfare on the training of Methodist teachers". Dr Tom Dobson is a Social Historian whose current research focuses on links between Methodism and The State. His 2024 PhD (“People, Place and Policy. Westminster College and the Development of Methodist Teacher Training”) explored the links between Methodism, public policy, and teacher training. It focused heavily on Westminster College, the Methodist teacher training institution which relocated to Oxford in 1959. Westminster College remains a research area for Tom, along with: the use of digital heritage platforms; forming links between Methodist Heritage and everyday Methodist practices; the role of ‘Place’ within Methodist history; and exploring the wider idea of ‘A Methodist Identity’.
This is a free event and everyone is welcome.
https://zoom.us/j/96696191020?pwd=6YcieBWI2PiWFblacG6vgzDkokXVy5.1
Meeting ID: 966 9619 1020
Passcode: 404866

26/01/2026

We'd love to invite you to join us at our 'Refresh&Renew' seminars on 3 February and 23 May! Visit www.woxresearch.co.uk/events for more information, and to register to attend.

* "1932 and All That: Why bother with Methodist Union?"
Revd. Dr Martin Wellings (3 February, 13.30)

* "Women and Methodism: Contested Identities"
A day seminar (23 May, 10.00-16.30)

22/01/2026

It was great to visit Methodist Central Hall Westminster on Saturday to celebrate !

We're even more thrilled to see the attention paid to this portrait of John Wesley, which is on loan from our art collections.

Did you know that our entire art collection can now be viewed in one catalogue? It can be found on our website - https://woxresearch.co.uk/the-gibbs-library!

📸: Methodist Central Hall, Westminster
📸: T. Dobson

20/01/2026

Been wondering about what the Network has been up to over the past few months? We're excited to share with you!

Why not have a look at our first 2025/6 update to find out:

Our First Update! Welcome to our first Network update! As we move through our second year, we hope to be doing more than before, and that we can share more about our work as it progresses. For our …

14/10/2025

We are officially open!

On 6 October, we were delighted to welcome colleagues from across Methodist Higher Education, Heritage, and our Oxford neighbours to join us as John May - High Sheriff of Oxfordshire 2025/6 officially opened our new Library!

To read about this event, head on over to our website, where you can also book to come and use our resources or learn about our collections and research.

On Monday, 6 October, the new Gibbs Library at Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford was officially opened by the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, John May. At the event, Mr May expressed his joy to see the n…

04/09/2025

Regular guests to Wesley Memorial Church (part of the Oxford Methodist Circuit and our new home) may have seen our new exhibition! This exhibition has been created ahead of the new Methodist New Year (which started on 1 September); Oxford Preservation Trust's annual 'Oxford Open Doors' weekend; and our Official Opening in October!

Themed around the theme of this year's President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, 'Our Story, Our Song', panels on either side of the main exhibition explore the Story of Westminster College and our other Methodist collections, as well as some of the central elements of 'Our Calling'. Each shelf also has a different story to tell - featuring material on "St John of Epworth" (a title taken from a 19th Century Family Tree); Westminster College; Methodist Oxford; Methodist hymns; and Methodist publications (which feature heavily in our collections).

Images and items used come from across our collections, including the holdings of the Wesley Historical Society, the Avec Consultancy Archive, and The Methodist Church/Methodist Heritage.

25/06/2025

We're very pleased to be able to share our Annual Report for 2024/25!

Our first year of activity, highlights include the creation of a new research space in Oxford; the continuation of events previously organised by the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History; and our first event, 'Methodist Ways of Life', in April.

To read the Report, head on over to our website:

The first year of the Network, and four fellowships funded by the Westminster College Oxford Trust (WCOT) has been productive, demonstrating both the need for the project and its possibilities for …

22/05/2025

We're delighted to be back at Lincoln College Oxford this evening for the annual John Wesley Lecture.

Our speaker, Dr Mark Kirby, is the Child Shuffrey Fellow in Architectural History at Lincoln, and speaking on "John Wesley and the Architecture of Early Methodism". He will be focusing on the 18th century buildings of The Methodist Church, including Wesley's Chapel & Leysian Mission and John Wesley's New Room.

The Lecture is organised annually to co-incide with the anniversary of John Wesley's evangelical conversion, dated to 24 May 1738. It is a collaborative event, organised by Lincoln College, Wesley Memorial Church (our new home), and ourselves.

The Lecture will be made available on our YouTube Channel in due course.