diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 689a1a371..1f4983e48 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@
     "autoload-dev": {
         "classmap": [
             "tests/TestCase.php",
-            "tests/UiTestCase.php"
+            "tests/UiTestCase.php",
+            "tests/PluginTestCase.php"
         ]
     },
     "scripts": {
diff --git a/tests/PluginTestCase.php b/tests/PluginTestCase.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..baaa85dd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/PluginTestCase.php
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+<?php
+
+use System\Classes\UpdateManager;
+use System\Classes\PluginManager;
+use October\Rain\Database\Model as ActiveRecord;
+
+class PluginTestCase extends Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\TestCase
+{
+    /**
+     * @var array Cache for storing which plugins have been loaded
+     * and refreshed.
+     */
+    protected $pluginTestCaseLoadedPlugins = [];
+
+    /**
+     * Creates the application.
+     * @return Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\HttpKernelInterface
+     */
+    public function createApplication()
+    {
+        $app = require __DIR__.'/../bootstrap/app.php';
+        $app->make('Illuminate\Contracts\Console\Kernel')->bootstrap();
+
+        $app['cache']->setDefaultDriver('array');
+        $app->setLocale('en');
+
+        /*
+         * Store database in memory
+         */
+        $app['config']->set('database.default', 'sqlite');
+        $app['config']->set('database.connections.sqlite', [
+            'driver'   => 'sqlite',
+            'database' => ':memory:',
+            'prefix'   => ''
+        ]);
+
+        /*
+         * Modify the plugin path away from the test context
+         */
+        $app->setPluginsPath(realpath(base_path().Config::get('cms.pluginsPath')));
+
+        return $app;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Perform test case set up.
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function setUp()
+    {
+        /*
+         * Create application instance
+         */
+        parent::setUp();
+
+        /*
+         * Rebind Laravel container in October Singletons
+         */
+        UpdateManager::instance()->bindContainerObjects();
+        PluginManager::instance()->bindContainerObjects();
+
+        /*
+         * Ensure system is up to date
+         */
+        $this->runOctoberUpCommand();
+
+        /*
+         * Detect plugin from test and autoload it
+         */
+        $this->pluginTestCaseLoadedPlugins = [];
+        $pluginCode = $this->guessPluginCodeFromTest();
+
+        if ($pluginCode !== false) {
+            $this->runPluginRefreshCommand($pluginCode, false);
+        }
+
+        /*
+         * Disable mailer
+         */
+        Mail::pretend();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Flush event listeners and collect garbage.
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function tearDown()
+    {
+        $this->flushModelEventListeners();
+        parent::tearDown();
+        unset($this->app);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Migrate database using october:up command.
+     * @return void
+     */
+    protected function runOctoberUpCommand()
+    {
+        Artisan::call('october:up');
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Since the test environment has loaded all the test plugins 
+     * natively, this method will ensure the desired plugin is
+     * loaded in the system before proceeding to migrate it.
+     * @return void
+     */
+    protected function runPluginRefreshCommand($code, $throwException = true)
+    {
+        if (!preg_match('/^[\w+]*\.[\w+]*$/', $code)) {
+            if (!$throwException) return;
+            throw new Exception(sprintf('Invalid plugin code: "%s"', $code));
+        }
+
+        $manager = PluginManager::instance();
+        $plugin = $manager->findByIdentifier($code);
+
+        /*
+         * First time seeing this plugin, load it up
+         */
+        if (!$plugin) {
+            $namespace = '\\'.str_replace('.', '\\', strtolower($code));
+            $path = array_get($manager->getPluginNamespaces(), $namespace);
+
+            if (!$path) {
+                if (!$throwException) return;
+                throw new Exception(sprintf('Unable to find plugin with code: "%s"', $code));
+            }
+
+            $plugin = $manager->loadPlugin($namespace, $path);
+        }
+
+        /*
+         * Execute the command
+         */
+        Artisan::call('plugin:refresh', ['name' => $code]);
+
+        /*
+         * Spin over dependencies and refresh them too
+         */
+        $this->pluginTestCaseLoadedPlugins[$code] = $plugin;
+
+        if (!empty($plugin->require)) {
+            foreach ((array) $plugin->require as $dependency) {
+
+                if (isset($this->pluginTestCaseLoadedPlugins[$code])) continue;
+
+                $this->runPluginRefreshCommand($dependency);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The models in October use a static property to store their events, these
+     * will need to be targeted and reset ready for a new test cycle.
+     * Pivot models are an exception since they are internally managed.
+     * @return void
+     */
+    protected function flushModelEventListeners()
+    {
+        foreach (get_declared_classes() as $class) {
+
+            if (!is_subclass_of($class, 'October\Rain\Database\Model')) continue;
+            if (is_subclass_of($class, 'October\Rain\Database\Pivot')) continue;
+            if ($class == 'October\Rain\Database\Pivot') continue;
+
+            $class::flushEventListeners();
+        }
+
+        ActiveRecord::flushEventListeners();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Locates the plugin code based on the test file location.
+     * @return string|bool
+     */
+    protected function guessPluginCodeFromTest()
+    {
+        $reflect = new ReflectionClass($this);
+        $path = $reflect->getFilename();
+        $basePath = plugins_path();
+
+        $result = false;
+
+        if (strpos($path, $basePath) === 0) {
+            $result = ltrim(str_replace('\\', '/', substr($path, strlen($basePath))), '/');
+            $result = implode('.', array_slice(explode('/', $result), 0, 2));
+        }
+
+        return $result;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/README.md b/tests/README.md
index fc5299f07..cde7a2c5e 100644
--- a/tests/README.md
+++ b/tests/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,54 @@
+# Plugin testing
+
+Plugins can be tested by creating a creating a file called `phpunit.xml` in the base directory with the following content, for example, in a file **/plugins/acme/blog/phpunit.xml**:
+
+    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+    <phpunit backupGlobals="false"
+             backupStaticAttributes="false"
+             bootstrap="../../../tests/bootstrap.php"
+             colors="true"
+             convertErrorsToExceptions="true"
+             convertNoticesToExceptions="true"
+             convertWarningsToExceptions="true"
+             processIsolation="false"
+             stopOnFailure="false"
+             syntaxCheck="false"
+    >
+        <testsuites>
+            <testsuite name="Plugin Unit Test Suite">
+                <directory>./tests</directory>
+            </testsuite>
+        </testsuites>
+        <php>
+            <env name="APP_ENV" value="testing"/>
+            <env name="CACHE_DRIVER" value="array"/>
+            <env name="SESSION_DRIVER" value="array"/>
+        </php>
+    </phpunit>
+
+Then a **tests/** directory can be created to contain the test classes. The file structure should mimic the base directory with classes having a `Test` suffix. Using a namespace for the class is also recommended.
+
+    <?php namespace Acme\Blog\Tests\Models;
+
+    use Acme\Blog\Models\Post;
+    use PluginTestCase;
+
+    class MessageTest extends PluginTestCase
+    {
+        public function testCreateFirstPost()
+        {
+            $post = Post::create(['title' => 'Hi!']);
+            $this->assertEquals(1, $post->id);
+        }
+    }
+
+The test class should extend the base class `PluginTestCase` and this is a special class that will set up the October database stored in memory, as part of the `setup()` method. It will also refresh the plugin being testing, along with any of the defined dependencies in the plugin registration file. This is the equivalent of running the following before each test:
+
+    php artisan october:up
+    php artisan plugin:refresh Acme.Blog
+
+# System testing
+
 ### Unit tests
 
 Unit tests can be performed by running `phpunit` in the root directory or inside `/tests/unit`.