Pulpit

Pulpit
Pulpit
2014/14120

1950-2000 / B/W / Paper / Photograph / Wesley's Chapel
Photograph
1968 reprint

This black and white photograph is a reprint of one taken around 1880. The original is one of the earliest detailed images of the mahogany pulpit at Wesley's Chapel. The pulpit dates to the 1770s and it was a gift from one of John Wesley's supporters.

Simple but elegant wooden stairs curve upward to the reading platform. Originally, the pulpit had three levels. It was cut down after raked seating was installed on the second floor level of the Chapel in the 1860s and the preacher (standing on the top level of the pulpit) could be seen more easily.

Also visible in the image are the original Chapel box pews, which were replaced in the early 1890s.