Zion(1868)

English Baptist, Pleasant View, Pentre

Built: 1868 , Extended or Rebuilt: 1878, 1998 [Sittings: 650]

Zion was initiated as a branch cause of Nebo, Ystrad since there were many people moving into the Pentre area unfamiliar with the mother-tongue of Nebo. Its written histories, and later denominational records, state the founding as 1865 except that it was only a branch cause at that time and only became a recognised church in its own right some three years later.

  Image © Copyright Glamorgan Archives - Reference: MGCS/CS/54.113

Initial meetings were held at a cottage in Ton-Pentre. Subsequently an old cart shed and then in Pentre School at Prospect Place, Pentre later renamed to Pleasant View which became the public library. The new church's original chapel was built close to this and would become the vestry for the grander chapel built some ten years later. The new chapel, which itself extended subsequent to The Revival, cost ₤1,250 with the latter extensions adding a ferther ₤1,200 to the cost.
    In the late 1990s the chapel proved to be unsafe for use and was demolished. You can see its location being the empty space in the 2009 photograph. It was decided to renovate/extend the original chapel/vestry which is how the chapel later appeared.
    Zion was a member of the Upper Rhonnda Baptist Group later reconvened as the Upper Rhondda Baptist Network. The Network's last minister, as far as Zion was concerned, was john David Davies. He held a preference to Zion and floated the idea that the other churches should co-join and just worship at Zion. This was not accptable and they continued to be separate. However, he was not the first minister of Zion to hold similar views. In a charitable view of the idea why have small congregations struggling to maintain their chapel when all could combine to maintain just one.
    The Reverend Davies left the network shortly before Zion ceased to hold services which itself took place in 2014. I am informed that the site of the chapel has been redeveloped.

Source documents:-
MGCS 54/113.
'Zion 100 1865-1965' - David C. Hughes & Eric Sandford.
'Zion English Baptist 1865-2005' - D.F. Brownnutt.