History of Aberdeen Methodist Church

In the late 1750s, a citizen of Aberdeen, Dr Memyss, approached John Wesley to send a preacher to Aberdeen and establish a Methodist society there. In 1759 John Wesley sent Christopher Hopper to preach. John Wesley himself came in 1761, the first of 14 visits to Aberdeen. The existing church building in Crown Terrace was erected in 1873.

In 2003 the main sanctuary was refurbished. The original pipe organ was dismantled by a team from Latvia who took it to Riga to be reassembled and used in a church there. The replacement is an electronic pipe organ built in Holland. All the pews were replaced by chairs (made in Poland), and a demountable stage was provided to allow greater flexibility and community access.

In 2009 Aberdeen celebrated the 250th anniversary of Methodism in the city.

On Sunday 29th November 2009 our morning service was held at Queen Street Church (see map) where a plaque was dedicated to mark the site where the Methodist Society in Aberdeen worshipped from 1764 to 1818.

Other events during the year included an open air presentation at the Castlegate, and special services at Crown Terrace Methodist Church , which included the return of all living previous ministers of this church.

Further Information

A brief history of Methodism
Early Methodism in Aberdeen
Extracts from The Journal of John Wesley, describing his visits to Aberdeen
Article by Andrew Stobart on Scottish Methodism