www.pillars-of-faith.com

Pillars Of Faith

Remembrance of Nonconformist and other chapels in The Rhondda

Home

The Project

What This Site Is About

The Rhondda is synonymous with coal. Coal brought the people to 'The Valleys'. The people brought their religion with them.

And almost as fast as houses were built to serve the ever increasing population, chapels were built to serve their faith. There is a most famous quotation that by 1905 there were 151 Nonconformist chapels with a seating capacity of 85,105 in the Rhondda Urban District.

But for the people of The Rhondda, the chapel was much more than a place of worship. Much of the social life of the people revolved around the chapel.

Yet it is not so easy to explain the reasons for the decline in chapel attendance. The decline in the mining industry played, I believe, only a small part in this. But what is for certain, one by one the congregations diminished and the chapels closed. Many fell into disrepair and many of these were demolished.The lucky ones were acquired by developers who retained the structure and put it to good use.

And this year, I heard that several chapels with a close connection to my own family were forced to close and these could also vanish in the near future.

Although I have lived all my life in The Rhondda, I can still walk down a street and pass a building without realising that a chapel once stood at that location. But I feel that their visual memory should be retained which is why I decided to make this site.

The focus is on Nonconformist chapels as that was the predominant force. The aim is to present as complete a record as possible of the Nonconformist chapels within The Rhondda and supplement this with other chapels as I discover them. I will present a document of each chapel, it's location,date of construction etc and some brief notes. And as the focus of the document is to be visual, there will, wherever possible, be a photograph of the chapel as it was which will be complemented with a photograph of whatever exists (or not as the case may be) on the site in this present day.

My journey to these locations is full of mixed emotions. Elation when I see the building still standing. Especially if it restored. Respect where I see a new building but named after the chapel that stood there. And total depression should I encounter an 'oasis' or an empty land plot.

As the taking of the modern-day photographs is a work in progress, I will add these to the site as they become available.

So join me on this trip down memory lane. I hope you will enjoy the journey.

Some brief notes about dates

As the emphasis of this site is on the buildings, I have, wherever possible, used the actual date of construction. Most chapels in their histories, and quite rightly so, will quote the date of the founding of the cause. Unfortunately, confusion will arise as sometimes it is this earlier date that appears on the inscription plaque of the chapel. The founding date, where available, is shown after the name of the chapel.