In 1786 Horncastle was made the head of a circuit to itself, and in that year the first chapel in the town was built, the whole circuit then numbering 620 members. This chapel was near the site of the present Baptist place of worship. A few years later the opposing barrier among the upper class seems in some degree to have given way, as, in 1792, we find the name of Joseph Bass, a “physician,” as “leader.” In 1800 there was further growth in the country, Greetham having 21 and Fulletby 26; among the latter occurring the still well-known names of Winn (Richard and Elizabeth), 5 Riggalls, and 5 Braders. By this time there were 6 circuits formed in Lincolnshire, and congregations at Newark and Doncaster. Although there was a chapel at Horncastle there was no minister’s residence until after 1786. At that date John Barritt rode over from Lincoln to preach, and finding no Wesleyan minister’s house, he was taken in and hospitably entertained by a Mr. Penistoun, who was “a great Culamite.” After staying the night with him he rode on next day to Alford, for Sabbath duty. On the death of John Wesley (1791) his mantle fell, and indeed, had already fallen, in several cases, on shoulders worthy of the commission which he conferred upon them. The first resident ministers were the Rev. Thomas Longley, Superintendent; the above John Barritt was the second, and Richard Thoresby the third. Hitherto it had not been a service free from difficulty, or even danger. Itinerary ministers had to make their journeys on duty, often long and wearying, on horseback, over bad country roads, even occasionally incurring hardship and peril. In 1743 Mr. John Nelson was sent by Wesley to Grimsby, and his journals describe severe labour and even persecution. Another pioneer, Thomas Mitchell, was thrown by a mob into a pool of water, and, when drenched, was painted white from head to foot. He was afterwards thrown into a pond more than 12 feet deep, rescued and carried to bed by friends, he was thrice dragged out of his bed because he would not promise not to visit the place (Wrangle) again. Wesley himself, in his journal (May 10, 1757) says “I preached to a mixed congregation, some serious, others drunk;” but on the other hand, in 1764, he preached, when the chapel “though having its galleries, was too small.”