Wesleyan preachers began visiting the village in 1839 and Sunday pursuits such as cock fighting and rabbit coursing began to give way to an enthusiasm for Methodism. The New Connection Chapel opened in 1862, followed by the Primitive Methodist Chapel (1875) and the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel at Rough Lea in 1881. The church school next to St Paul’s was built in 1848. Across the road is the one surviving school, opened in 1924 Under the guidance of architect William Cory, construction of St Paul’s Church began in 1844. Most of the windows are of the early English style and fitted with Victorian stained glass. The East window was donated by Mrs Spencer of Helmington Hall in memory of her husband, the Rev Robert Spencer. The window is said to replicate one at Salisbury Cathedral. The church was remodelled and enlarged in 1886 with a vestry, organ chamber and North transept added.

The New Connection Chapel resulted from the spread of a Protestant nonconformist movement which had broken away from Wesleyan Methodism. Next came the Primitive Methodist Chapel at New Hunwick. The Rough Lea Chapel resulted from Methodist pioneer Simpson Heslop being appointed manager of the nearby colliery. Helped by landowner George Wright, he had the chapel built in 1881. It was enlarged in 1889 and a Sunday School was added in 1903. Wesleyan was removed from the title in 1932 following the Methodist union.