The Building

The Building

In 1823, the Rev. Robert Corson, a Wesleyan Methodist circuit rider, came to London Township to conduct

worship services in people's homes. By March 1833, London's first Methodist Church was built at the corner

of Ridout and Carling Streets.

As the congregation grew, larger churches were built in 1839 and 1842. In 1854, North Street Methodist

Church, thought to be the largest church west of St. James United Church in Montreal, was built on the corner

of North (now Queens Avenue) and Clarence Streets. This church has been frequently named the parent

church of Methodism in London and was responsible for many mission churches which have long since

become self-supporting.

Tragically, in the early morning of February 2, 1895, fire broke out and burned the church to the

ground. Undaunted, the Board of Trustees made plans for a new church on Wellington Street. Samuel

McBride, who had been a trustee when the North Street Methodist Church was built, agreed to oversee the

construction even though he was 76 years old. During the process, he presided over 96 of the 99 planning

meetings.

In 1895, the church was rebuilt in the Romanesque Revival style on a foundation 184 by 96 feet with a bell

tower rising 170 feet. It seated nearly 1,400 worshippers, though the congregation then was half that

size. The cost of the site, the building, the furnishings, and the organ came to just over $97,000., a substantial

sum even for what was then the wealthiest Methodist church in London. Our new church was renamed First

Methodist Church and the cornerstone laid on July 30, 1895, less than 6 months after the fire. The London

Free Press called our church "Methodism's Magnificent Temple."

On June 10, 1925, the United Church of Canada was born. Our congregation became part of this new

denomination which brought together Congregationalists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. The name of our

church again changed to its present name, Metropolitan United Church. Our first worship service under this

name was on June 14, 1925, only four days after the union of churches had taken place.