Dont mind a derp chapel, got lucky with these two in Coffi dre, not posted for a while so thought I'd chuck them up.
Engadi chapel
This chapel played a part in Welsh history in 1856, when the founding of a Welsh colony in Patagonia was discussed here – for the first time in Wales.
The Calvinistic Methodists established a chapel here in 1842. The building we see today, with its grand Classical entrance, was erected in 1867. The architect was Richard Owen of Liverpool. The chapel closed c.1999.
The Literary Society of Caernarfon met at the original chapel. One of the society’s leading lights was local printer Lewis Jones, born in nearby Pool Lane in 1837. In 1856 the society discussed the possibility of setting up a colony across the Atlantic where the Welsh language and culture would thrive. The idea had first been mooted in the USA, where there was disappointment that the offspring of Welsh people who had settled in North America tended to ignore their Welsh heritage.
Lewis Jones went on to rally support for a colony in Patagonia, a sparsely populated region of South America, and in 1862 he sailed to Buenos Aires to open discussions with the government of Argentina. After Mr Jones wrote a glowing – perhaps over-optimistic – report on the Chubut area, the first settlers arrived from Wales in June 1865. They named Trelew (Tref = town) in Mr Jones’ honour. The early decades of Y Wladfa (“the colony”) were difficult, and it took all his powers of persuasion to prevent the settlers leaving. He died in Chubut in 1904, a few years after a flood wrecked the settlers’ work to improve the land. The colony survived, and Welsh is still spoken in Patagonia today.
On the pillar to the right of the entrance to Engedi chapel is a plaque commemorating the Rev Evan Richardson, who founded an influential Calvinistic Methodist school in Caernarfon in 1787.
Ebeneser chapel
This Wesleyan chapel, erected in 1826, was designed by local architect John Lloyd, a devout Wesleyan. He is honoured by the Welsh name of Wesley Street (alongside the chapel) – Stryd John Llwyd.
Previously Wesleyans met at a smaller chapel, built in 1804 here in Tre’r Gôf. As membership increased, a larger chapel was needed. The gable end of the 1804 chapel still stands, at the back of the 1826 chapel. In 1834 a chapel was built behind the main chapel for English services, which moved to a new chapel (now the Freemasons’ Chapel) in Castle Street in 1877.
The present building was Wales’ largest Wesleyan chapel, designed to hold 900. The schoolroom could accommodate 400. Construction of the chapel cost £3,486. It’s one of few chapels in Wales to a Gothic design. John Lloyd’s original three doors were reduced to two when the existing porch was added, to the designs of Richard Davies.
The chapel has a stained glass window, depicting Saints Michael and Martin, in memory of Albert Victor Jones (1887-1914), youngest son of magistrate John Jones. Albert was a Cambridge graduate and worked as a solicitor before serving as a Private in the Honourable Artillery Company. He was killed in action in Belgium in November 1914. His mother Jane unveiled the window in 1918.
In 1912, a mission room was added to the chapel for the poor of the town. As was common in many chapels at the time, separate worship was provided for people who couldn’t afford a chapel subscription.
In 1921 Gwilym Lloyd George married Edna Jones here. Guests included his father, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and mother, Dame Margaret. Gwilym was a Major in the First World War and later held various cabinet posts, being Minister of Fuel and Power for most of the Second World War. It fell to him to announce in 1955 that Cardiff was Wales’ official capital – and not its main rival Caernarfon! You can watch a news clip of the wedding party leaving the chapel on the Pathe website here.
Capel Ebeneser closed in 2018. Its 13 ministers included poet Gwilym R Tilsley.
Engadi chapel
This chapel played a part in Welsh history in 1856, when the founding of a Welsh colony in Patagonia was discussed here – for the first time in Wales.
The Calvinistic Methodists established a chapel here in 1842. The building we see today, with its grand Classical entrance, was erected in 1867. The architect was Richard Owen of Liverpool. The chapel closed c.1999.
The Literary Society of Caernarfon met at the original chapel. One of the society’s leading lights was local printer Lewis Jones, born in nearby Pool Lane in 1837. In 1856 the society discussed the possibility of setting up a colony across the Atlantic where the Welsh language and culture would thrive. The idea had first been mooted in the USA, where there was disappointment that the offspring of Welsh people who had settled in North America tended to ignore their Welsh heritage.
Lewis Jones went on to rally support for a colony in Patagonia, a sparsely populated region of South America, and in 1862 he sailed to Buenos Aires to open discussions with the government of Argentina. After Mr Jones wrote a glowing – perhaps over-optimistic – report on the Chubut area, the first settlers arrived from Wales in June 1865. They named Trelew (Tref = town) in Mr Jones’ honour. The early decades of Y Wladfa (“the colony”) were difficult, and it took all his powers of persuasion to prevent the settlers leaving. He died in Chubut in 1904, a few years after a flood wrecked the settlers’ work to improve the land. The colony survived, and Welsh is still spoken in Patagonia today.
On the pillar to the right of the entrance to Engedi chapel is a plaque commemorating the Rev Evan Richardson, who founded an influential Calvinistic Methodist school in Caernarfon in 1787.
Ebeneser chapel
This Wesleyan chapel, erected in 1826, was designed by local architect John Lloyd, a devout Wesleyan. He is honoured by the Welsh name of Wesley Street (alongside the chapel) – Stryd John Llwyd.
Previously Wesleyans met at a smaller chapel, built in 1804 here in Tre’r Gôf. As membership increased, a larger chapel was needed. The gable end of the 1804 chapel still stands, at the back of the 1826 chapel. In 1834 a chapel was built behind the main chapel for English services, which moved to a new chapel (now the Freemasons’ Chapel) in Castle Street in 1877.
The present building was Wales’ largest Wesleyan chapel, designed to hold 900. The schoolroom could accommodate 400. Construction of the chapel cost £3,486. It’s one of few chapels in Wales to a Gothic design. John Lloyd’s original three doors were reduced to two when the existing porch was added, to the designs of Richard Davies.
The chapel has a stained glass window, depicting Saints Michael and Martin, in memory of Albert Victor Jones (1887-1914), youngest son of magistrate John Jones. Albert was a Cambridge graduate and worked as a solicitor before serving as a Private in the Honourable Artillery Company. He was killed in action in Belgium in November 1914. His mother Jane unveiled the window in 1918.
In 1912, a mission room was added to the chapel for the poor of the town. As was common in many chapels at the time, separate worship was provided for people who couldn’t afford a chapel subscription.
In 1921 Gwilym Lloyd George married Edna Jones here. Guests included his father, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and mother, Dame Margaret. Gwilym was a Major in the First World War and later held various cabinet posts, being Minister of Fuel and Power for most of the Second World War. It fell to him to announce in 1955 that Cardiff was Wales’ official capital – and not its main rival Caernarfon! You can watch a news clip of the wedding party leaving the chapel on the Pathe website here.
Capel Ebeneser closed in 2018. Its 13 ministers included poet Gwilym R Tilsley.
