Before 1849

Exactly when the first Methodist Society was formed in Walton is not known, but from records available we do know that it had existed before 1849. "Several and various had been the  meeting-places, hallowed into Sanctuaries" according to the report written for the Jubilee and referring to the early days before 1849.

For some time the Society had met for worship in a two storied building in the Balk, which stood where the bungalow "West Lodge" now stands. It is recorded that owing to the growth of the Society the first floor of the building was taken out to give better accommodation. The building was used during the week as a school by Mr Athey, who led the singing of the congregation on Sundays with an accordian.

However respectable a village Walton may appear in the present century, it has been heard spoken of as a "wicked little place" in the last century. The Township is in the ecclesiastical Parish of Sandal Magna, but there having been no church in the village of any denomination  since the Reformation it is not surprising that Walton's reputation was not high. One can, therefore, well imagine the great need for a religious awakening and that Methodism came to answer that need, as it had done in so many other villages and towns throughout the land.

In the early part of the nineteenth century Walton was touched for a short time by the Industrial Revolution. Soapworks were built in Shay Lane near the canal and many of the workers joined the Methodist Society.