We’re very pleased to share that we are due to receive a very generous grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

This money will cover 80% of the cost of major repairs to the roof and masonry of our Grade II* listed chapel. It’s a huge step towards our larger ambitions for our buildings on St Saviourgate.

Work is due to happen over this winter and spring, but worship and all room bookings will be unaffected. More details to follow soon.


Massive thanks to all who have worked with us to make this possible.

Venue management organisation, Central Hall Venues (CHV) today announces the launch of its second UK site, St Saviourgate York. The news follows the successful launch of its first UK site, Nicolson Square Edinburgh, in March 2021.

CHV was established to support and manage UK venues based at Methodist public meeting places which share the same values of community, sustainability and well-being as its original venue, Central Hall Westminster. (CHW). As a nationally and internationally renowned conferencing and events centre for 20 years in the heart of London, Central Hall Westminster Ltd created CHV to replicate its own model by supporting and managing similar venues.

St Saviourgate York (SSY) is a conference and events venue situated in the historic city walls of York. Its Grade II* listed building, designed by architect James Simpson as a meeting and community space, dates back to 1840 when it was built to mark the centenary of Methodism. Conveniently positioned in central York next to The Shambles and with a stunning view of York Minster, the venue offers five flexible event spaces that can host events for up to 400 people. Its stunning Great Hall contains an ornate high ceiling and an impressive organ. A network of buildings connected to the Great Hall via a corridor lead to an oasis of a sunny and green courtyard in the heart of the venue.

Primary event spaces for up to 100 people each are the Fulford and Rawcliffe rooms. When the two rooms are combined – using a remarkable piece of Victorian engineering, a movable wall – the space can accommodate up to 220 people.

The venue’s versatile spaces can host all kinds of public and private occasions including musical concerts, performances and rehearsals, conferences and meetings, as well as seminars and training events. The building’s stunning 19th century architecture is also ideal for filming and TV locations.

Each room at SSY is filled with natural daylight and high ceilings with staff on hand to provide full guidance to event organisers. SSY works with a selection of caterers who can provide bespoke options, whatever the event.

Paul Southern, Managing Director of Central Hall Venues, comments: “Following the successful launch of our Scottish venue, Nicolson Square Edinburgh, we are absolutely delighted to be adding a second venue within the same year in York. SSY, which has the same community and sustainability values as our own, is the perfect addition to our expanding family of venues in the UK.”

“Our close ties with Methodism will ensure the venue will maintain its ethical principles and while all kinds of events will be held there, it still retains its original purpose as a place of worship and community in York,” he adds.

More information can be found on the new SSY website. 

Central Methodist Church was a flagship Connexional project to mark the 100th anniversary of the “strangely warmed heart” of John Wesley, completed in 1840. It has seen this beautiful city change, flourish, struggle and become what it is today, a thriving hub full of visitors and residents, education, commerce and industry.

The congregation that worships in Central Methodist Church has similarly changed, flourished, struggled and become what it is today, a committed family of Christ-followers who have real passion for the church and its place and life in the city, alongside all, especially those who are vulnerable in some way.

Several years ago, we reached a crossroads. With mounting issues with the building itself, and feeling potentially overwhelmed, conversation and prayer were focused on a question, “Do we remain open, and if so, how do we creatively face the future?”.

The answer was an emphatic yes to carrying on, the life of the building was revitalised in terms of tenancies and its use by external groups, and the circuit honoured that deeply held conviction by creating the diaconal post that Judith Stoddart has taken up since September last year.

Central’s life is changing.

We have been worshipping with more variety, moved the children’s area in the church to the front, and begun to meet in small group activities and opportunities during the week, attended by a mixture of church members, passers by, and CareCent clients. We’re asking what it truly means to make the building and our worship as welcoming as possible, and what contribution we uniquely make to the city in the space we have and the faith opportunities we offer. Of course, that without doubt brings changes to our patterns, priorities and the building itself. It’s exciting, challenging and progressive. We’ve come a long way in the past year.

We have commissioned an architect to undertake a feasibility study for the whole of the building, asking ourselves, user groups and performance groups in drama and music to help us re-imagine the possibilities for the physical space we have. Part of that means evaluating the chapel as it is in terms of practicality and accessibility for worship and other events, alongside a potential long term partnership in refurbishing the basement and some considered work around the church entrances and the navigability of the whole building.

We expect to have that work completed by Christmas and will then be deciding how to proceed. We have offers of consultation and assistance from the District and the Connexion, but Central remains a circuit church in our circuit, and so we want you to know that we’re on the move, and that the conversation about our mission and presence in the city centre is alive, growing and will need to be part of our circuit’s stepping out in faith into the future. For now, pray for us, ask us about our life, and give thanks with us for the many years of faithfulness to all that God is doing through us here, and is going to do in the years to come.