John Wesley's New Room

Our Fairtrade award-winning café serves a range of fresh and locally sourced produce and welcomes tourists, locals, and many loyal regular customers.  This volunteer role involves helping staff with the everyday running of café.

You may be asked to:

• Greet visitors to the New Room café and gift shop
• Assist with washing up, cleaning and tidying
• Bring food orders to customers
• Clear tables
• Prepare beverages
• Serve customers using the till

Café volunteer shifts are 11.30am-2.30pm, Monday-Saturday.

Visitor welcome volunteers are key to our visitor experience.  The role mainly involves being inside the chapel, visitor centre or museum entrance, greeting visitors and providing them with the information they need so that they can enjoy their visit.

You may be asked to:

• Provide a friendly greeting to all visitors on arrival
• Listen to visitors’ needs and help them orientate the site accordingly
• Explain to visitors the New Room’s story, significance and history
  Inform visitors about current exhibitions, events and facilities
• Invigilate museum spaces and lead guided tours
• Sell museum and events tickets, operating the till and card machine
• Become familiar with the local area and answer visitor enquiries about other places to visit, transport, support services, etc.
• Support in the delivery of events and activities
• Be an advocate for the wider work of the New Room and the ways visitors can support this by donating or becoming a Friend of the New Room

Welcome volunteer shifts are 10.30am-1pm or 1pm-4pm, Monday-Saturday.

As a costumed interpreter, you have a passion for history and an enthusiasm for welcoming and engaging the public in conversation. As well as being a welcoming and friendly presence, you will be positioned in the Broadmead courtyard in full eighteenth-century costume, seeking to promote John Wesley's New Room’s cultural offer.

All of our costumed interpreters adopt third person interpretation, this means the interpreter openly acknowledges that they are a contemporary of the visitor, simply one in historical dress. (This means that they never attempt to be in-character.) On occasion the costumed interpreter will be asked to host a demonstration session within the courtyard using objects from the museum’s handling collection. 

Costumed interpreters volunteer shifts take place during opening hours, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, 11am-2pm, weather permitting (if bad weather, the role will be based in the chapel).

The New Room welcomes groups of students from a wide range of educational bodies, including primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, home schooling groups, SEND groups, uniformed organisations (e.g. Girl Guides) and youth groups.  We are looking for volunteers to support our Education Officer and provide a versatile engaging education programme to groups who visit the New Room.

You may be asked:

• To assist the Education Officer in delivering educational visits by a wide range of groups to all sections of the New Room site (and Charles Wesley’s House if required)
• To be a friendly, positive and knowledgeable ‘friendly face of the New Room’
• To help set up and clear away before and after sessions
• To respond to needs of groups as they arise
• To lead sections of a group’s visit e.g. a half hour visit to the museum or a workshop on slavery and abolition as agreed with the Education Officer
• To meet regularly with the Education Officer to review the content and presentation of the education programme
• To feed back any issues, challenges or opportunities that may arise during visits

Education volunteer shifts are ad hoc depending on school trip bookings.  They usually take place during academic term time Monday-Friday.

Volunteers should ideally have some practical experience in DIY and property maintenance. The work might be in the historic New Room or in the new visitors’ centre.  Tasks are ad hoc and you will be instructed and supported by our existing team.

You may be asked to help with:

• Erecting shelves, pictures, ornaments, etc.
• Repairing damaged part of the existing fabric
• Simple plumbing / electrical repair issues
• Painting and decoration
• Inspecting/examining potentially vulnerable parts of the building

This is an ad hoc volunteer role that takes place during standard New Room opening hours, 10.30am-4pm, Monday-Saturday.

As well as a term time education programme, the New Room offers a range of family-friendly activities in the school holidays and some weekends.  These may include craft days, activity days, quizzes, museum trails and workshops.  These activities will be based in various places around the New Room site / Charles Wesley’s House, and usually involve hands-on crafts and activities which will involve interaction and ‘soft’ learning.

You may be asked to:

• To assist the Education Officer and other New Room staff in delivering friendly, accessible and fun activities for families
• To be a ‘friendly face of the New Room’ to families who attend
• To encourage families to discover the rest of the site (e.g. the café, the museum, the library)
• To help set up and clear away before and after sessions
• To devise new relevant crafts and activities which could be used in future sessions

Family activities take place during the school holidays.  Volunteer shifts are usually 10.30am-1pm or 1pm-4pm, Monday-Saturday.

Volunteers play a vital role in the running of the New Room shop. We welcome visitors from all around the world as well as many local people who regularly visit our café and shop. The shop sells a range of souvenirs and publications, as well as cards, stationery and gift items.

• Welcome and serve people
• Price and putt out stock
• Help with stock rotation
• Help with window-displays
• Operate the till and card machine
• Offer security support in the shop
• Package online shop orders

Shop volunteer shifts are 11am-2pm, Monday-Saturday.

The New Room runs a varied programme of public events, from concerts and performances, to talks and lectures.  Our events volunteers welcome visitors to the New Room and are key to our audiences enjoying their time.

You may be asked to:

• Welcome people on arrival to the New Room
• Sell tickets at the Box Office
• Check tickets on entrance to the event
• Help serve refreshments
• Help set up and clear down venue for the event
• Answer visitor queries about the event and their visit to the New Room
• Promote future events

Our events programme is varied, with most events needing stewards taking place in the evening Mondays-Saturdays.