The next chapel we are going to look at is one of Merthyr’s oldest and most important chapels – Bethel English Baptist Chapel in Georgetown.
In the early 1800’s some members of the congregation at Zion Chapel, Twynyrodyn wanted to hold services in English to cater for the increasing number of English speaking members of the chapel, so in 1806 a group of worshippers led by William and Martha Matthews and William Baldwin started meeting in a blacksmith’s shop on Tramroadside just behind the present day Hope Chapel.
It was soon found that this location was not ideal due to the noise from the blacksmith, and the group moved to a room above two cottages in Morgan Jones Court, which was situated close to where the present Tesco Store has been built. An application was made on 19 November 1806 for the room to be formally recognised as a place of worship to be called Providence Chapel. This was granted on 1 January 1807, and Rev Daniel Davies was inducted as the first minister of the new place of worship.
Rev Davies, originally from Pembrokeshire, was a very able man and an accomplished preacher, despite the fact that he was blind. At first he was very popular, even preaching at the Calvinistic Methodist Chapel at Pontmorlais, which caused a stir amongst the Calvinistic Methodist Association and also amongst the English Baptists congregation, but ultimately he fell into a less than salubrious lifestyle which angered the church, and he retired in 1812.
By 1813 the congregation had grown to such an extent that it became obvious that a larger place of worship was required. At this time, a chapel became available in Georgetown. It had been built in 1807 by the General Baptists and was called Bethel, but the congregation had quickly dwindled, so the worshippers from Providence Chapel bought the building and grave yard for £200. Following necessary repairs to the building, the new chapel opened in April 1813.
The congregation flourished so by 1826 the chapel had to be rebuilt at a cost of £495 to double the size of the seating. By 1841 the congregation had again grown so it was decided that a new chapel should be built in the town centre. The congregation left Bethel and moved to the new High Street Chapel in June 1841.
A short time after this, members of Ebenezer Chapel in Plymouth Street took over the empty chapel to cater for the members of Ebenezer from that part of the town, thus Bethel became a Welsh Baptist Chapel.
Within twenty years the congregation had dwindled whilst the congregation at the nearby Ainon Chapel grew, so in 1862 the congregations exchanged chapels. By 1893 however, the fortunes of both chapels had reversed so the congregations returned to their original places of worship.
As with most of the chapels in Merthyr, the congregation dwindled during the 1960s, and the chapel closed in the 1970s. Many schemes were mooted to use the building, but none came to fruition, and Bethel sank into dereliction and was eventually demolished in 1983.
One of the most striking features of the chapel was its interior with the seats angled towards the pulpit. This was unique in the Merthyr area. Below are two excellent photographs of the interior of Bethel Chapel courtesy of Mike Donovan.
Beautiful building Georgetown School held their Speech Days there.