Martha Thompson was an English Methodist. She was a housemaid in London, and was converted to Methodism after hearing John Wesley

John Wesley

John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

 preach in Moorfields

Moorfields

In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. The fields were divided into three areas, the Moorfields proper, just north of Bethlem Hospital, and inside the City boundaries, and Middle and Upper Moorfields to the north.After the Great...

. Martha was declared insane and sent to Bedlam

Bedlam

Bedlam may refer to:* Bethlem Royal Hospital, London hospital first to specialise in the mentally ill and origin of the word "bedlam" describing chaos or madness-Places:* Bedlam, North Yorkshire, a village in England...

, but Wesley later freed her and rode with her back to her hometown of Preston. There she became a founder of Methodism in the region.

Martha Thompson's story was told in the 1976 musical "Ride! Ride!", written by Alan Thornhill and scored by Penelope Thwaites.