Dear Listers,
You may recall I recently requested information about the former Dolygaer
Chapel (now a private residence) at grid reference is SO053144 on the
western side of Pentwyn reservoir in the valley of the Taff Fechan. I hoped
to find out:
1. When the chapel was built.
2. Its religious denomination.
With help from Lloyd Lewis (Editor of Cronicl Powys) and Dr Peter Mason
(General Secretary of CAPEL), I've made the following discoveries, which I
am able to share with Powys List members:
Two places of worship were drowned under the Pentwyn and Pontsticill (Taff
Fechan) reservoirs, circa 1926:
1. Bethlehem Independent Chapel (built in 1828), shown at grid reference
SO055134 on the 1889 Ordnance Survey map on the Old-Maps website at
www.old-maps.co.uk/.
2. Capel Taf Fechan, shown at grid reference SO056138 on the same Ordnance
Survey map. According to the relevant GENUKI webpage, Capel Taf Fechan was
closed in 1926, which is consistent with the flooding of the valley when the
reservoirs were filled (see
www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/BRE/CapelTaf-fechan/). I now believe that Dolygaer
was built circa 1905 as a chapel of ease for Capel Taf Fechan. Dolygaer
Chapel looks so much like a Nonconformist chapel, it had never occurred to
me that it might be Anglican!
The last baptism in the Capel Taf Fechan registers was in 1981, presumably
before the closure of Dolygaer Chapel, and the last marriage in 1925
(information from Powys County Archives at
http://archives.powys.gov.uk/).
Bethlehem Chapel and Capel Taf Fechan are both mentioned on the Brecon
Mountain Railway website at:
www.breconmountainrailway.co.uk/route.html
------Quote begins-------
The [Taff Fechan] Reservoir was completed in 1927 and can hold 3,400 million
gallons of water. The water flooded the vicarage and 15th Century Capel Taf
Fechan, Bethlehem Congregational Chapel, some cottages, small holdings and
land belonging to eight farms. In times of drought the remains of some of
these buildings appear above water level.
-------Quote ends-------
Alan George's website at
www.alangeorge.co.uk/pontsticill.htm shows a
photograph of the entrance arch to the old Bethlehem Chapel (built in 1828)
protruding from the middle of the reservoir during a drought.
The Glamorgan Records Office website offers the following information (at
www.glamro.gov.uk/News.html) relating to some recent library accessions
(from the Glamorgan Family History Society):
------Quote begins-------
Bethlehem Independent Chapel Ponsticill [sic] and Llanthetty [Llanddeti]
Capel Taf Fechan Chapel of Ease, Vaynor Breconshire.
"Both these chapels were demolished in 1926 to make way for the flooding of
the Taf Fechan Valley, to form the new Pontsticili Reservoir. The graves,
headstones and memorial headstones were removed and re-sited in a field
higher on the side of the mountain. Some of the graves and headstones were
removed by relatives to other churchyards, the memorial tablets have been
placed in the Church at Llanthetty"
-------Quote ends-------
Dolygaer Chapel is currently advertised for sale on the housing market at
£525,000 - see
http://tinyurl.com/3bxnya
So, the answers to my questions about Dolygaer Chapel are summarised below:
1. The chapel was built circa 1905.
2. It was an Anglican chapel of ease.
Kind regards,
John
--------------------
John Ball, Ystalyfera, near Swansea, Wales, UK
E-mail: john(a)jlb2005.plus.com
John's Homepage:
http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/
Images of Wales:
http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/walespic/
Welsh Family History Archive:
http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/wales/
GENUKI Breconshire Maintainer:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/BRE/
Joint Administrator - Powys (& BRE/MGY/RAD) RootsWeb mailing lists