The end of my story is this: the people of Aberdare are extraordinary, writes American Jane Powel Thomas.
The beginning lies in the very rich past of Aberdare when one (or possibly more) of my husband’s ancestors was the minister of the Ebenezer Chapel in Aberdare, now located in the Trecynon area. Both of us have a Welsh background, my husband’s family from North Wales and mine from the Brecon area. As a child, my husband was brought to Aberdare to see the church where his great, great grandfather was minister, and he was moved by the fascinating, still-operating chapel that included an interior plaque
commemorating his ancestor, the Rev. Edwards.
Merthyr Tydfil town is a goldmine of fascinating sights for the passing photographer. There are many sculptures and other interesting landmarks, the Carnegie Library, old Town Hall & County Court, several Churches and Chapels, and of course the people of Merthyr itself!
When walking through the town centre, cast your head back high and take a look at some of the architectural detail high-up on the older buildings. Some of it is breathtaking.
On a walk from Merthyr town centre to the Pontmorlais area of town, we snapped some photos of the Hope and Market Square United Church.
St Mary’s Church, Welshpool gives a splendid vantage point over the town of Welshpool. You can see the lush green rolling hills beyond the town from the Church.
Welshpool War Memorial is situated within the grounds of St Mary’s Church, a 20ft memorial built of sandstone.
Last Friday, July 4th 2008 a fire at the Tabernacle Chapel in Aberystwyth caused extensive damage to all four floors. The future of the Chapel is now uncertain.
The Tabernacle Chapel in Aberystwyth, was built in 1879, and closed in 2002.
According to the Daily Post newspaper : ”
Four crews were called to the Tabernacle Chapel on Mill Street, Aberystwyth on Friday at 11.39pm.
Mid and West Wales fire and rescue service say the cause is unknown and is being investigated.
A spokesman said eight people were evacuated as a precaution.
Mill Street, Powell Street and Bridge Street were temporarily closed.
All four storeys were damaged in the Victorian chapel which had been disused for more than five years.”
Click here for full set of photos of Tabernacle Chapel.
St Mary Magdalene’s Church was established in 1882. Quite late in the day to be frank.
According to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Heritage Trail on Cwmbach : “Religious buildings opened, with the Baptists opening a chapel in 1841, the independents opening a small chapel known as Capel Bricks in 1846 and the Calvinistic Methodists opening a chapel at Tir Bach in 1852.”
In nearby Bridge Street, Wales’ first Co-Operative Store was opened on March 8th, 1860.
Chapels of the Cynon Valley as at Autumn 2004 (the publication date of his book)
Active Chapels = 63 35%
Vacant Chapels = 11 6%
Converted Chapels = 50 28%
Demolished = 56 31%
Total chapels built = 180
So in summary, a third of Cynon Valley’s Chapels no longer exist after being demolished. The highest rate of demolition took placed during the period 1960-2000 when 45 Cynon Valley Chapels were demolished.
Then around another third have been converted (and those conversions have not always been sympathetic to the architectural integrity of the original chapel design).
The other third are still active as places of worship and continue to contribute to the cultural and spiritual life of the Valley. A photographic record of the majority of the remaining Chapels (and Churches) of the Cynon Valley are available in the Gallery.
In the Photograph : Bethania Chapel, Wind Street, Aberdare. Hiding behind the Black Lion Hotel. This Chapel is no longer active, the building is now derelict. It closed in the 1990s.
The end of my story is this: the people of Aberdare are extraordinary, writes American Jane Powel Thomas.
We have uploaded many more photos of Elim Chapel, Cwmdare to the Gallery.
We’ve added a whole bunch of photos of St Luke’s Church, Cwmdare.
Another historic Welsh Chapel bites the dust…
Lucky, lucky Cwmbach-ophiles… we make it our mission to spoil you.
Taking a short break from Welsh Nonconformist Chapels… we’ve added Photos of some of the Anglican Churches from Cynon Valley, including :
In his book 
Photos are now in the 
Photos and references on 
