Wesley Church, Egmore

Wesley Church in Egmore, Chennai, is a Protestant church named after John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement. The Wesleyan Mission, which had set up in Madras in 1817 with its base at Royapettah, wanted to grow into Egmore, and in 1892 it bought a garden house on Poonamallee High Road with a lotus tank in front. Rev. John Breedan, the first to live there, worked towards a church, and its foundation was laid on 28 December 1903 when the tank was filled in. It opened on 11 February 1905 and marked its centenary in 2005.

The Gothic building has a brick exterior, stained-glass windows and a tiled brick spire, and its pipe organ is among the oldest still played. Inside, images of Wesley and Christ stand in glass cases on the walls. The church now belongs to the Church of South India's Diocese of Madras. Each November it holds a harvest festival of thanksgiving, giving rice, vegetables and oil to people in need.