Charles Wesley's House

Charles Wesley's House
Charles Wesley's house, No. 4 Charles Street, Bristol
Location within Bristol
General information
Town or city	Bristol
Country	England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°27′37″N 2°35′32″W / 51.4603°N 2.5923°W / 51.4603; -2.5923Coordinates: 51°27′37″N 2°35′32″W / 51.4603°N 2.5923°W / 51.4603; -2.5923

Charles Wesley's House (grid reference ST589736) is a restored historic building at 4 Charles Street, Bristol, England. From 1749 to 1778 it was the house of Charles Wesley, hymn writer and co-founder of Methodism, and his wife Sarah Wesley née Gwynne. It was Charles Wesley's main residence during 1756–71. It was the childhood home of his sons Charles Wesley junior and Samuel Wesley. They were musical child prodigies, who both became renowned organists and composers. The house's interior has been restored to its 18th century appearance, with period fittings.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788), and his wife, Sarah Gwynne (1726–1822) from Brecknockshire, moved into the house in September 1749, after their marriage earlier that year.

Initially, Charles continued his "itinerations", that is travelling and preaching around the country, and so was often away from home. Sarah sometimes accompanied him. By 1756 this lifestyle had taken its toll on his health, and after that year he made no further long journeys to distant parts of the country. However, he still spent much of his time away in London, attending to the Methodist community there.

He was the Methodist "minister in residence" for Bristol, and was described in the St James's Church parish records as a "preacher at the Horsefair". Charles and Sarah had many children, all baptised at St James's. In between Charles junior (1757–1834) and Samuel (1766–1837) they had a daughter, Sarah (1759–1828), who like her mother was often called Sally. There were other children, but they died young, and were buried in St James's churchyard.

The early musical education of Charles junior and Samuel mostly took place in the family home. The boys' earliest musical influence was their mother, who had a good singing voice and played the harpsichord. Hymn tunes and the works of Handel were the family's favourite pieces.