The church's dominant position on the High Street reflects the growing importance of Methodism in 19th century Witney, equalling or even exceeding the established Church of England. It was commented, even as late as the 1940s, by an incoming incumbent that in his previous parish the Church of England ran everything but in Witney it ran nothing.

Many of the local mill owners were Non-Conformists and encouraged their workers to become so. The early Methodist meetings in Witney were held in a cloth weaving shop until the latter half of the 18th century, when a chapel was built in the High Street (the right hand picture above). The congregation eventually outgrew this too and the present Methodist Church was built to seat around 700 people. Funds were raised partly from a meeting organised by John Early in his blanket room at Newland and also a bazaar at the Blanket Hall: the sum raised eventually reached £1,250. The new chapel was designed by James Wilson of Bath in the Gothic style. John Early laid the foundation stone in 1849 and the building was completed nine months later.

To the rear of the chapel, accessible via Wesley Walk, are the buildings that housed the Wesleyan School. It was open on Saturdays and Sundays and teetotal parents were given a reduction in the school fees!