The next chapel we look at is Salem Welsh Independent Chapel in Heolgerrig.
In 1838 a group of three men:- Jenkin Prosser, Moses Richards and Thomas Jones began to hold prayer meetings at their homes, and decided that they should start a Sunday School. Within two years the congregation grew to such an extent that they decided to build their own chapel.
Permission was given by Evan Evans, owner of the Six Bells Inn to build on a piece of land behind the Inn for an annual rental of one shilling. The cost of the building was kept to minimum due to materials being donated and labour given free, and as most of the congregation were also members of Bethesda Chapel, the latter chapel also backed the project.
The small chapel, which they called Bethlehem, measured just nine yards long by six yards wide was completed in June 1840 at the cost of just £120. The chapel remained a branch of Bethesda until 1842.
By 1855 the congregation had out-grown the chapel and it was decided to build a new chapel on a more accessible site and Salem Chapel was built to replace it.
Land was acquired between the main road and the factory pond with a ground rent of 10 shillings per annum. Because the land was so narrow, the chapel was built along the road rather than facing it. The new chapel cost £368.8s.7d and the members decided to call it Salem.
The congregation continued to grow, so the chapel was enlarged and re-built in 1872.
Salem became one of the focal points of Heolgerrig until well into the 20th century, and the choir and dramatic society at the chapel were famous throughout the borough, but as we have seen so many times, the congregation began to dwindle in the latter half of the century.
Due to prohibitive costs for the upkeep of the building, the main chapel was demolished in 1990, and the vestry was converted into a smaller chapel. Salem Chapel was one of the only chapels in Merthyr to still conduct its services entirely in the Welsh language until its closure in 2015.