Ynysgau Chapel – Page 2 – The Melting Pot

Merthyr’s Chapels: Twynyrodyn Chapel

The next chapel we are going to look at is a chapel that has been somewhat forgotten – Twynyrodyn Unitarian Chapel.

When Rev T B Evans was appointed as minister at Ynysgau, he was considered far too conservative by the Arminian members of the congregation, and they lodged a protest. The matter was taken to court, but the Arminians lost their appeal and left Ynysgau.

In 1814 they began meeting in a room at the Patriot Inn near Ynysgau with Rev Thomas Evans taking the services. In the following few years, discussions were held regarding the opening of a Unitarian Chapel in Merthyr.

In 1820, therefore, when the congregation was forced to leave the Patriot Inn, a committee was appointed and within a year, Twynyrodyn Unitarian Chapel was opened in Court Street, and Rev David Rees was appointed as the first minister there.

After Rev Rees left in 1823, Rev David John became minister in 1826. By the 1840’s David John began expressing sympathy for the Chartist Movement and the congregation, not comfortable with his views began to leave the chapel. Due to the severe drop in the congregation, the chapel closed in 1847. Rev John thus left the chapel, but the following year, the chapel reopened and new ministers were appointed.

By the beginning of the 20th Century the old chapel was becoming obsolete and the congregation decided that they should build a new chapel. It was decided to build the new chapel in Lower Thomas Street, and the architect chosen was Mr A E Johnson who designed a very opulent, striking gothic building. With the building of the new chapel, Twynyrodyn Chapel became vacant until it was bought and became the Gospel Hall.

The chapel was demolished in 1969 during the redevelopment of the town.

The name plaque from Twynyrodyn Chapel which is now located at Hen-dy-Cwrdd Chapel in Cefn-Coed.

Rosser Beynon

Here is an article about a very important, but largely forgotten man in Merthyr’s musical history – Rosser Beynon.

Rosser Beynon was born in Glyn Neath in 1811, the oldest child of John and Elizabeth Beynon. In 1815 the Beynon family moved to Merthyr Tydfil where John Beynon secured a job at the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. Upon moving to Merthyr the family became members of Zoar Chapel.

Rosser Beynon began working at the Ironworks at the age of eight, but he also began attending a school conducted by a Mr MacFarlane. As well as this he also began teaching himself music and it was in this field he immersed himself and it is said that he would lose many hours of sleep trying to master some musical problem.

At the age of 18, Beynon was given the responsibility of training the choir at Zoar Chapel, and he remained in this position until he was given sole responsibility for conducting the choir in 1835. In about 1840, he began giving music lessons in his house in Bethesda Street, and his reputation was such that he was asked to travel all over South Wales to give lessons. In addition, he was invited all over Wales to adjudicate competitions for compositions of hymns and anthems, and became the musical editor of ‘Y Diwygiwr’, the monthly periodical produced by the Independent Union of South Wales. Between 1845 and 1848 he published ‘Telyn Seion’ a collection of hymns and anthems by many prominent composers.

In 1850, Rosser Beynon was among the 58 people who left Zoar to move to Ynysgau Chapel to bolster the congregation at the latter chapel following the crisis associated with the decline of Rev T B Evans. Upon arrival at Ynysgau, he immediately took over the leadership of the choir and remained in charge of the choir until 1872.

Throughout his adult life, Rosser Beynon continued to work as a miner in the Dowlais Pits and In December 1875, while supervising repairs in the mine, he contracted a cold which subsequently developed into bronchitis and pleurisy. Rosser Beynon died on 3 January 1876 at the age of 65. He was buried in Cefn Coed Cemetery and the inscription on his tomb reads:

Er Coffadwriaeth am
Rosser Beynon (Asaph Glan Taf), Merthyr Tydfil
A fu farw Ionawr 3ydd, 1876,
Yn 65 mlwydd oed.
Yma yn isel mae un o weision
Miswig a’i mawredd y’mysg y meirwon;
Canad dirwest, ac athraw cantorion;
Hunodd un Ngwalia dan nawdd angelion,
Ac yn Iesu cysga’i noson – a’i ffydd
Roes aur-obenydd i Rosser Beynon

Pilgrimage to Cwm-y-Glo

Eighty years ago today, on 13 July 1939, a special service was held in the ruins of Cwm-y-Glo Chapel to mark the 300th anniversary of Non-conformity in Wales. The Merthyr Express, dated 15 July 1939, reported the service, and is transcribed below.

PILGRIMAGE TO CWM-Y-GLO

Welsh Independents’ Service in Chapel Ruins

Delegates from 55 churches attached to the North Glamorgan Association of Independents on Thursday made a pilgrimage to the ruins of Cwm-y-Glo Chapel, the secret worshipping place of Welsh Dissenters of the 17th Century.

The pilgrimage was part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of Non-conformity in Wales, and the pilgrimage coincided with the quarterly meeting of the North Glamorgan Association at Ynysgau Congregational Church.

An impressive service was conducted around the ruins of the historic chapel and was attended by about 300 people.

Lying in a secluded spot on the mountainside overlooking the Borough, Cwm-y-Glo was built in 1669 by the Dissenters who had previously held their meetings at Blaencanaid Farm nearby. Blaencanaid became liable to raids by Government spies and soldiers, and for 20 years Cwm-y-Glo was used as a secret worshipping place until 1689 when the Toleration Act gave religious freedom to all Non-conformists.

Services were continued for many years afterwards until the members formed themselves into two groups – one going to Cefn Coed and the other to Ynysgau Chapel.

At the service at Cwm-y-Glo on Thursday an address was given by the Rev J T Rogers, pastor of Zoar Welsh Congregational Church, Merthyr, on “The Struggles of the Dissenters in the Merthyr area and the history of their worshipping places”. Mr Thomas Edwards of Edwardsville, president of the North Glamorgan Association, presided and prayer was offered by the Rev Watkin Jones.

Principal John Morgan Jones of the Bangor Independent College proposed a vote of thanks to the Rev J T Rogers and Mr W T Owen, Director of Education, seconded. The service concluded with the Benediction given by the Rev Cyril Bowen, Troedyrhiw.

ASSOCIATIONS CONFERENCE

A conference was held at Ynysgau Chapel in the morning, when Mr Thos. Edwards presided. Reports of the activities of the association during the past quarter were given by the Rev J T Rogers, secretary of the association.

The Rev H P Hughes, Cwmbach, was elected missionary secretary for the association and the Rev Glannant Jones, Aberdare, was appointed secretary of the Peace Committee.

Following the conference a service was held when the preacher was the Rev J R Salmon, Pontlottyn. Others who took part in the service were the Rev W Walters, Abernant; the Revs D C Jenkins, W Morse and W R Davies.

During the conference the Rev J T Rogers, who has been the association’s secretary for the past 12 years, was presented with a typewriter in recognition of his services. The presentation was made by Mr J Lewis, Aberdare, and Mr Rogers suitably responded.

A public meeting was held in the evening when the mayor, Mr Isaac Edwards, J.P. presided. The Rev T Glyndwr Jones, Dowlais, took the devotions, and addresses were given by Mr R Hopkin Morris, M.A., Director of the West Regional BBC Station, Cardiff, and Principal J Morgan Jones M.A.

A photograph of the service at the ruins of Cwm-y-Glo Chapel

Memories of Old Merthyr

We continue our serialisation of the memories of Merthyr in the 1830’s by an un-named correspondent to the Merthyr Express, courtesy of Michael Donovan.

I will now endeavour mentally to walk up the High Street. Beginning from about the old Taff Vale Station, the opening on the right led around, and came out near the Court House, while the second (there was only a public house between them) to Pendwranfach. Passing these there was a division in the road; pedestrians, if they liked, could keep the right hand one (which was the shortest of the two), but vehicular traffic kept to the left hand opening just as it is today.

The first opening on the left of this left hand opening was Cross Keys Street, on which, on the right hand side there was the ‘lock-up’. This consisted of two rooms, quite dark as far as I can remember, and the entrance doors were alongside one another. It was here, I remember, Dick Tamar being locked up for the murder of his mother. The next opening on the same side was Mill Street, and just opposite, at the entrance was the stocks. An entrance gate to the churchyard was close to the stocks.

An extract from the 1851 Public Health Map showing the area in question

In Mill Street there was public house called the White Lion, and adjoining the residence of Mr Evans, minister of Ynysgau Chapel. Mr Evans had evidently married a widow, for there were four Miss Williamses there as well as a son whose name was Evans. Mill Street led around by the Plymouth feeder or watercourse to Bridge Street. Adjacent to the dwellings the ruins of the old mill stood. This was an old grist mill, and will be alluded to again as being of great assistance in a law suit.

The block of buildings between the right hand, or path and the left, or road, is the lower shop. In one of the two facing up the High Street, a bank (the Merthyr Bank) was kept for a while, a Mr Williams being the manager, who was also, I believe, a tallow chandler, for I know his widow and son were so at a later date. Only a short way above the junction of the path and road, on the right hand side, stands The Star, at one time the best hostelry in town, for it was here Nelson stayed on a visit to Merthyr Tydfil.

The Star Inn. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Then follows an opening – Mardy Street then I believe, for the Mardy is close by. The next opening on the same side is Broad Street, and the next above on the same side Gillar Street; but before coming to Gillar Street, on the opposite side of the road, was what I will call Three Salmons Street, for the public house of that name was on its left hand side.

On the left hand from the White Lion there was nothing but the churchyard wall. The churchyard itself was higher than the road, and getting very full, the wall being kept well limed for a very good purpose. Between Mardy Street and and Broad Street there was a small shop, then the Boot, kept by James Evans, then a druggist’s shop kept by a person named Strange, and at the corner of Broad Street, a grocer’s shop kept by David Rosser. This was the name he traded in, but his full name was David Rosser Davis.

The Boot Inn. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

On the opposite corner of Broad Street was the Farmers’ Arms, and adjoining it, extending up to Gillar Street, was the Angel, kept by David Williams. His aunt, a Miss Teague, was there, and had, I think, an interest in it. Perhaps I ought to say when John Nixon opened on the coal at Werfa, this David Williams had an interest in the sinking, but taking more capital than anticipated, James Evans, a wine and spirit merchant, of Redcliff Hill, Bristol also joined at a later date.

To be continued at a later date…..

Merthyr’s Chapels: Ynysgau Chapel

Following on from the previous article, the next chapel we are going to look at is Ynysgau Chapel – the oldest and arguably most important chapel in the town.

Ynysgau Chapel in the early 1900’s. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

As has mentioned in an earlier entry (http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=301), the early Non-Conformist worshippers had been meeting in a small chapel in Cwm-y-Glo. In 1749 the lease at Cwm-y-Glo expired, and due to the ever-growing congregation, it was decided to build a new chapel in the centre of Merthyr Tydfil.

It is said that the land which lies between the site of the Old Iron Bridge down to Swan Street was offered to the Non-Conformists at that time for the sum of £5 per annum “as long as a stone remains in the Taff river bed”. However, the members lacked enterprise and instead, bought the land on which the chapel stood in February 1749, and the first Ynysgau chapel was built with Samuel Davies being ordained as the first minister.

In 1785, Daniel Davies, a student from Carmarthen Presbyterian College was ordained as minister of the chapel. Although remaining for over twenty-five years, Davies’ ministry was not a successful one. The congregation at this time was still a mixture of various groups, and due to dissatisfaction with Davies’ style of preaching, the various groups began to split apart. One group left in 1788 to start a Baptist cause which would eventually lead to the formation of Zion Chapel in Twynyrodyn, and in 1794 the Calvinists left to start their own cause which led to the formation of Pennsylvania (later Pontmorlais) Chapel. The remaining worshippers became an Independent church, but even so, a number of the congregation thought that Daniel Davies’ ministry wasn’t rousing or evangelical enough for their tastes and split away from Ynysgau to hold their own meetings at the Crown Inn. This was the nucleus for Zoar Chapel.

In 1811, during the ordination of a subsequent minister, Rev Thomas Benjamin Evans, the gallery of the chapel collapsed due to overcrowding. Luckily everyone escaped from the accident. The ministry of Rev T B Evans wasn’t an entirely successful one. Following a promising early part of his ministry, Thomas Evans soon lost the confidence of his congregation due to his fondness for alcohol, and the congregation dwindled to almost nothing.

In an attempt to save the cause, 60 members of Zoar Chapel came to Ynysgau to boost the membership. Following Rev Evans death in 1851, Rev James Morris was inducted as the minister. The chapel flourished, and in 1853 it was decided to build a larger chapel.

Ynysgau Chapel in the 1960s. Photo courtesy of Tony Hyde

The new chapel was officially opened in Easter Week 1854, and remained a successful cause well into the latter half of the 20^th Century.

The chapel was forced to close and was demolished in 1967 as part of the redevelopment of the town centre, and it has often been said it was a sad decision to demolish such an important part of Merthyr’s history, especially as nothing stands on the site of the chapel.

There was a graveyard, inaugurated in 1750 attached to Ynysgau. The graveyard was one of the oldest in Merthyr with some tombstones dating back to 1773 and 1776; when the Chapel was demolished the remains of those buried at Ynysgau Chapel were exhumed between 10 – 27 October 1969, and re-interred at the Ffrwd section of the Cefn Cemetery. Further unidentified human remains were found at the site during excavation for a new road and were re-interred at Cefn Cemetery on 6 March 1998.

If you would like to learn more about Ynysgau Chapel, there is a fully-illustrated booklet available detailing the history of the chapel.

It costs £5 including postage and packing. All proceeds go towards the running of this blog.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the booklet, please contact me at: merthyr.history@gmail.com.

Merthyr’s Bridges: The Iron Bridge

In our series looking at the bridges of Merthyr, we come to Merthyr’s most iconic bridge, and indeed one of Merthyr’s most iconic lost structures – the Old Iron Bridge.

Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Old Iron Bridge, or the Merthyr Bridge as it was originally called was commissioned by William Crawshay to replace a stone bridge that had been washed away by a flood. This act was not entirely altruistic on the part of Crawshay, as the only other bridge across the River Taff in town was Jackson’s Bridge, which had been built in 1793 by the Dowlais Iron Company.

Watkin George, the principal engineer at the Cyfarthfa Works was tasked with designing the new bridge, and he conceived a structure fabricated with cast iron sections. To span the River Taff, George had to design a bridge that would span between 65 to 70 feet from bank to bank, so single cast iron beams would be impractical, as they were limited to 20-25 feet in length due to the possibility of the iron failing due to the continuous traffic that would use the bridge.

He decided, therefore to build a structure comprising three separate sections between 22 and 24 feet long, the thickness of the iron being one and a quarter inches, and he constructed the bridge as a cantilever, with the two end sections mounted on buttresses built on the banks of the river with a convex central section fixed between them.

Work started on the bridge in the middle of 1799, and was completed by April the following year. The new bridge had an overall length of 64 feet, and was five feet wide.

The bridge was in constant use as the only bridge in the centre of Merthyr until a new bridge – the Ynysgau Bridge, also called the New Iron Bridge, was built next to it in 1880.

Ynysgau Bridge with the Old Iron Bridge behind it. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

The amount of traffic using the bridge can be illustrated in the table below (originally from Merthyr Historian Vol 2, used with the kind permission of The Merthyr Historical Society). Following construction of the new bridge, The Old Iron Bridge was used primarily as a footbridge.

Courtesy of the Merthyr Tydfil Historical Society

In 1963, the bridge was dismantled as part of the refurbishment and ‘improvement’ of Merthyr. The remains of the bridge – indeed the vast majority of it, now lie gathering dust in a warehouse in Merthyr, and all attempts by local historical groups to have the bridge re-erected somewhere in the town (it can’t be re-erected in its former position as the river has been widened), have failed.

One of the most iconic views of old Merthyr – the Old Iron Bridge with Ynysgau Chapel. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

To read a fuller account of the history of the Old Iron Bridge, try to get hold of a copy of Volume 2 of the Merthyr Historian where you will find a marvellous article about the bridge by Leo Davies.

Merthyr’s Chapels: Zion Chapel, Twynyrodyn

Our next chapel is one of the oldest and one of the largest chapels in Merthyr – Zion Baptist Chapel, Twynyrodyn.

After the early non-conformist worshippers started meeting at Ynysgau Chapel, the various groups started to split.

In 1710, the Baptists had already built a chapel in Hengoed, and in about 1740, Mr David Lewis – one of the assisting ministers at Hengoed, moved to Merthyr and he soon started holding meetings at his home. In 1786 it is recorded that five or six people were baptised in the River Taff near the Iron Bridge, and it was roughly at this time that the Baptist members of Ynysgau decided to leave and join the group who had been worshipping with David Lewis.

They decided to build their own chapel and work was begun in June 1788, and the chapel was completed in February the following year. Rev Edward Evans, who had been a minister in Carmarthen had recently moved to Merthyr to work in the Iron Works, and he was asked to become Zion’s first minister.

Within a short time however, Rev Evans moved to Hengoed to take charge of the chapel there. The congregation heard of a young preacher named William Price in Carmarthen who had just finished his studies at the Theological College in Bristol. They asked him to come to Zion in 1792 and he was ordained in June of that year. A number of the congregation objected to him however, and a split occurred in the congregation which resulted in William Price and his followers leaving the chapel and starting the cause at Ebenezer Chapel.

Rev Edward Evans immediately returned to Merthyr and took over as Zion’s minister once more. The cause went from strength to strength, and at this time Rev Evans and two of his assistants, David Davies and David Jones established the cause at Bethel, Ynysfelin (later Cwmtaff). Rev Edwards left Zion in 1797.

Under subsequent ministries, the congregation grew and the chapel was extended in 1807 at a cost of £360, and again in 1814.

The chapel was completely rebuilt in 1842 the architect being T H Watt of London, and in 1861 a plot of land was purchased from Mr David Robert Davies in Mountain Hare for £20 and a school room was built there.

In 1892 it was decided to completely renovate the inside of the chapel, building a gallery around three walls, and moving the pulpit in front of the magnificent organ new organ designed by Harrison & Harrison of Durham – one of the finest pipe organs in the borough. The work was carried out in 1900-02 at a cost of almost £4000.

In 1979 a severe storm damaged the roof of the chapel, and the ceiling collapsed on to the organ.

An appeal was launched to raise money to repair the organ, and more than £2000 was raised through donations and also a concert given by the Cefn Coed Male Voice Choir and the tenor Keith Jones.

The organ was repaired by Mr Balch of Cardiff and was finally ready for use by 1984.

Since the early 1990’s services have been held in the vestry, and the chapel has sadly fallen into a very bad state of repair, and has been closed due to health and safety reasons. In December 2013, due to dwindling numbers and the need for unaffordable repairs, the sad decision was made to close the chapel.

The magnificent interior of Zion Chapel in a sorry state of repair shortly before the chapel’s closure in 2013. Photo courtesy of Tony Hyde

The Cyfarthfa Mystery

What better for a cold winter’s night than a gruesome tale of murder and it’s ghostly aftermath?

The following story is one of those tales that has been passed down through many generations (I have certainly heard about it from several different sources), and has passed into Merthyr folklore.

As most people know, Cyfarthfa Ironworks was founded in 1765 by Anthony Bacon, a rich London merchant, and in around 1770 he had a home built for himself on the banks of the River Taff, next to the works, and called Cyfarthfa House.

Cyfarthfa House in the 1790’s from a drawing by William Pamplin. Photo courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery

Soon after it was built, one of Anthony Bacon’s maid-servants began a love affair with a young man named William Owen, who, on one occasion presented her with a pair of silver shoe-buckles and a black silk neckerchief. The couple visited the Cefn Fair, but Will noticed that his lady-friend was very reticent towards him, and was paying far more attention to another young man – Benjamin Harry, obviously another would be suitor. To make matters worse, Will noticed that his rival was wearing the fancy buckles and the very silk neckerchief he had presented to his beloved!

On the Sunday following the fair, Will decided to confront the maid. Having attended the evening service at Ynysgau Chapel he went to Cyfarthfa House for an explanation of her behaviour. Will declared his love to the girl and proclaimed his faithfulness to her at all times, but accused her of being unfaithful to him. A heated argument ensued, culminating with Will plunging a knife into her chest. The injured girl managed to get into the house, and climbed the stairs to join the other maids. As she ascended the stairs, faint through loss of blood, she rested her bloodstained hand on the wall for support, before dying.

Ever since then, so the story goes, that subsequent generations who occupied the house decorated the hallway many, many times over, but no matter what they used, be it paint or wallpaper, the bloody hand-print would always show through.

Sir Frederick J Pedler, former mayor of Merthyr and historian, says in his book ‘History of the Hamlet of Gellideg’, that he actually visited Cyfarthfa House in 1926, and was shown the spot where the maid rested her bloodied hand on the wall, and sure enough, there was the shape of a hand print on the wall.

Cyfarthfa House was demolished in the 1930’s, and with it went the hand-print for good.

Many thanks to Chris Parry at Cyfarthfa Museum with additional information about Cyfarthfa House.

Joseph Williams – ‘Y Tyst’

by Carl Llewellyn

Joseph Williams was born at St Clears, Carmarthen, and came to Merthyr as a boy in 1842 to be apprenticed to his cousin Rees Lewis as a bookbinder. After serving his apprenticeship, he left Merthyr and went into business as a grocer at Llangattock. In 1872 he bought the printing business of Mr Thomas Howells (who had died the previous year) in Glebeland Street, which formed part of the block of buildings erected for Merthyr Express.

He continued at the premises for a few years before moving to other premises in Glebeland Place, extending his offices and putting in new machinery which helped with the journal publications. Some time after moving to the new premises, Williams took over the printing and publishing of the Welsh Congregational Newspaper. The newspaper had previously been published in Liverpool from its inception in 1864 under the title “Y Tyst Cymreig” (The Welsh Witness) then at Dolgellau, under the name of “Y Tyst a’r Dydd” (The Witness and the Day), but in the year 1892 the latter part of the title was dropped and it became known as “Y Tyst”.

Joseph Williams’ ‘Tyst’ Office in Glebeland Place

Joseph Williams also published two monthly periodicals – the religious magazine “Cenad Hedd” (Messenger of Peace) from 1880, and “Cronicl Cenhadol” (The Missionary Chronicle) established in 1897, recording the work done in the foreign mission field by the London Missionary Society, both magazines were well known throughout the Welsh Independent denomination.

He was a life-long teetotaller, and from his earliest years in Merthyr Tydfil was closely associated with the temperance organisations which came into being in later years. Notably he was indentified with the well known society “Cymmrodorion Dirwestol” a literary society devoted to the preservation of the Welsh language, his connection enabling him to render great service to Welsh literature. He was for many years a most zealous and efficient secretary of “Cymmrodorion Dirwestol”, and in that capacity he had a good deal to do with the promotion and production of the long series of successful Eisteddfodau held at the Temperance Hall on Christmas Day.

In religion Mr Williams was a Congregationalist. He was a member of Zoar Chapel, until 1850 when Joseph Williams with 59 other members of the chapel transferred themselves to Ynysgau, due to the demise of the minister Rev T. B. Evans, who’d lost the respect of his congregation through his persistent indulgence in intoxicating liquors. As a result Ynysgau Chapel almost became extinct. With the influx of members from Zoar, the congregation began to increase, giving the chapel a new lease of life. Only two of the 60 members of Zoar remained at Ynysgau – Joseph Williams and William Powell. Joseph Williams never coveted office or position, but his remarkable faithfulness to the church won him the foremost positions in Ynysgau Chapel – where he was prepared to lead others were willing to follow. In 1875 he was elected a deacon; he became the chapel treasurer from 1880-1892 and he also became the Sunday school superintendent.

In politics Joseph Williams was a Liberal and was ardent in the maintenance of his principles. He was regarded not to be extreme or bigoted, or self-opinionated in the slightest degree. He was a fair minded man ready to hear the other side, and meet it with kindly discussion. Through being an active member of the Nonconformist Committee he was co-operated in the political organisation of the Liberal party in Merthyr Tydfil.

In 1899 Ynysgau Chapel celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the cause plus the clearance of Chapel debt. The chairmanship was given to Joseph Williams who gave an account of his connection with the church during his 50 year membership, and he called upon his son D. D. Williams to read out a very ably written history of Ynysgau Chapel from its establishment.

Joseph Williams died in July 1903, and at his funeral service at Ynysgau Chapel was remembered as a naturally able man, and his acquaintance with Welsh literature was extensive. He possessed a large amount of knowledge which was very accurate, and was a man of sound judgement, an upright character and a credit to the community.

The Birth of Non-Conformity in Merthyr

by Steve Brewer

Religious dissent in the Merthyr area has existed since the middle of the 16th Century. In the 1540’s, a man called Tomos Llewellyn of Rhigos translated William Tyndale’s English translation of the New Testament into Welsh. Llewellyn travelled widely across North Glamorgan and left the seeds of his dissenting beliefs in what was then the village of Merthyr Tydfil. A number of the villagers adopted these beliefs and clung stubbornly to them when the persecution of the Dissenters got underway under the Stuart kings. No matter how stubborn they were in their beliefs, they still had to be converted. If they were found practicing their beliefs, they were given sentences of imprisonment or death.

It is unclear when exactly Non-Conformity started in earnest in Merthyr but we can be sure that it had firmly taken root by the beginning of the 1600’s. The most conclusive evidence regarding the birth of Non-Conformity in Merthyr can be found in the papers of Rev Nathaniel Jones, the rector of the Parish of Merthyr Tydfil between 1640 and 1662. Amongst his papers was found a manuscript, written at some time in the early 1650’s giving a history of the troubles in the town at the time of the Long Parliament – the English Parliament summoned in November 1640 by King Charles I to raise the money he needed to wage the second Bishops’ War against the Scots which eventually led to the English Civil War.

In the manuscript Rev Jones states: “We have, in Merthyr Tydfil parish, a fellowship of men and women, who have for some time been in the habit of holding conventicles, in which some have formulated an ecclesiastical constitution according to their own wishes, contrary to the prevalent laws and regulations of the State Church”. The document emphasizes that this had been going on for about 30 years, so it is safe to argue that the Non-Conformists started holding regular meetings in about 1620. It was then that Non-Conformists from both Merthyr and Aberdare started meeting at Blaencanaid Farm.

Under the aegis of Oliver Cromwell, Parliament relaxed the laws against the Non-Conformists and they began to meet openly. Following the restoration of Charles II to the throne however, new stringent laws were passed against Non-Conformity, foremost amongst these was the Conventicle Act of 1664. The Non-Conformist worshippers, who now numbered between 300 – 400, had to return to meeting in secret at Blaencanaid. They were in constant danger of antagonism and arrest, so a number of men were elected as ‘watchers’ to keep watch whilst the meetings were taking place and warn the worshippers of any imminent danger. Despite all of their difficulties the congregation flourished, so a new meeting place was found at a barn belonging to Cwm-y-Glo Farm. As well as being larger, the new meeting place was more secluded and thus safer than Blaencanaid.

In 1689 the Toleration Act was passed which granted freedom of worship to all Dissenters. As a result the worshippers at Cwm-y-Glo decided to build a proper chapel for themselves. The landowner, Captain David Jenkins, granted them permission to build a chapel at Cwm-y-Glo which was completed in 1690. The congregation at Cwm-y-Glo at this time comprised of many different groups – Quakers, Presbyterians, Arminians and Anabaptists.

For many years, all went peacefully at Cwm-y-Glo until disputes arose over points of religious dogma, and a bitter argument followed. This is not surprising since the congregation of Dissenters comprised many different denominations. The main split came in 1741 when the Unitarians left to establish their own church at Hen Dy Cwrdd, Cefn Coed. In 1752, Cwm-y-Glo itself was closed when the remaining congregation moved to their new chapel in Merthyr town – Ynysgau.

Non-conformity was firmly established by the end of the 18^th Century. The Baptists established Zion Chapel in 1788 and Ebenezer Chapel in 1794, the Calvinistic Methodists established Pennsylvania (Pontmorlais) Chapel in 1793, and the Independents managed to establish Zoar Chapel in 1798 and Bethesda in 1807 as well as having acquired Ynysgau. Lastly, the Wesleyans established their chapel in 1796.

Between 1789 and 1850, at least forty places of worship were licensed in Merthyr, Dowlais and Penydarren alone.