There is no record of John Wesley preaching in Mossley, although there is a stone at Hartshead that is known as the preaching stone where he is said to have preached. The first Methodist Class started in the early 1770's at the cottage of James Brookes. Numbers grew, and then they met in the home of James Wrigley. There was a degree of secrecy because the Earl of Stamford had declared that no dissenters chapel would be built on his ground. Richard Wilson the son of the Scout Mill owner joined Mossley Brow Methodists and became leader of the Society. Many services were held in the open air. A Deed survives dated 21st November 1785 setting out arrangements for raising funds for a Methodist Chapel or Preaching House at Mossley. Four men dealt with the finances: John Greaves of Brookbottom, Richard Wilson of Scout Mill, John Howard of Staley, and Nathaniel Buckley of Staley. Nathaniel Buckley later helped found the Albion Church in Ashton-under-Lyne. Land was secured at Craddock Street - the new Chapel opening early in 1788. It was a simple building with no heating. after the death of John Wesley "The Methodist New Connection" was set up in Mossley. The congregation grew rapidly. In 1805 a Sunday School was started and stood where the Health Centre stands today. Joint classes were held for pupils of both St George's (Church of England) and the Methodists - both taking the classes on alternate weeks. On 2 October 1823 the Methodists opened a new school on Wyre Street. The foundation stone of a new chapel was laid on Whit Friday 1834 and it opened on 28 June 1835. It stood in a commanding position overlooking the market ground. It was large enough to seat 900 and was extremely well built. A Jubilee celebration in 1873 saw a procession of over 1,000 teachers and scholars. In 1965 a decision was made to erect a new Church Hall at Market Street and in 1968 the name was changed to "Mossley Methodist Church". Extensive dry rot in the old chapel lead to it being demolished in 1969. The current church was built in 1985. Part of the scheme involved the building of "Chapel Court" flats for the elderly. It is these flats that now overlook the landscapped grounds in which the surviving headstones from the "Methodist New Connection" have been laid. In 1986 a record was made of the Memorial Inscriptions written on the surviving headstones, and it is this record that has allowed for the creation of the Find A Grave Memorials for those named on the surviving headstones. It seems that since that time some of the headstones have since sunk below ground level and can no longer be read.