[1] Wesley Church is built of load-bearing brick laid in Flemish bond in the Victorian academic Gothic Revival style and features a landmark spire, steeply pitched roofs, parapeted gables, label (hood) moulds and wall buttressing.

The church has a strong verticality of form, emphasised by tall lancet windows with plate tracery to the east facade.

Angle buttresses divide the nave wall into five bays, and the major windows have stucco label moulds above them.

The first Methodists arrived in the Swan River Colony on 3 February 1830 aboard the Tranby, to found a small religious community at Tranby House, six kilometres (four miles) upstream along the Swan River from the newly established town of Perth (approximately on the site of the current suburb of Maylands).

[10] The church was opened on Sunday 10 April 1870 with services by Reverend William Lowe (who married Joseph Hardey's daughter Mary Jane), Rev.

[8] In 1896 further alterations and additions were made, including the construction of the north-east tower (which buried the original foundation stone), the side galleries, the ceiling to the nave and the south-west porch.

[13] A decision was made to demolish the steeple but, when approximately 9.1 metres (30 ft) was removed, the remainder of the structure appeared secure and so a copper cone was placed on top to replace the damaged section.

In 1974 redevelopment occurred on the north-west and south-west sides of the church site with the construction of the Wesley Arcade and Tower, which opened in May 1976.