Some Captured History Of The Amman Valley And Its PeopleBethania Chapel |
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Bethania Chapel, Glanamman, October 2007
Bethania Chapel was built in 1906 and is situated on Brynlloi Road, Glanamman. This Calvanistic Methodist Chapel was designed by D. Williams of Swansea and is now a grade II listed building. The building is reported to have cost £3,100 to build, which in today's terms (i.e.estimated value of the £ in 2007), would amount to approximately £182,000.
Although its sides are rendered, Bethania Chapel is striking for its ornate facade, incorporating Baroque, Beaux-Arts and Palladian themes. Acanthus leaf and festoon decoration above its North facing windows and the great arch above the cornice, draw the eye upwards, where the words "BETHEL METHODISTIAID CALFINAIDD" boldly announce the denomination of the proud building. At the highest point of Bethania's facade is a "torch finial".
The interior of the Chapel is also ornate; with mouldings, a deeply coved ceiling, seven cast iron columns supporting the three sided gallery and various other decorative features. The organ is situated behind the raised pulpit and bears the makers name: "Peter Conacher & Co. Huddersfield".
Bethania Chapel is a grade II listed building because of its
"unusually elaborate design which illustrates the final flowering of
chapel architecture in Wales". Its importance in a historical context
is due to its illustration of "the richness of chapel architecture associated
with prosperity in local coal mining and tinplate industries before 1914."
It became listed on 9th January, 1998.
Bethania, with Brynseion in Background, October 2007.
Thanks to CADW for the information on Bethania Chapel, which they referenced
from the following sources:
A Jones , Welsh Chapels , (National Museum of Wales), 1984 87.
Carmarthen Journal, 23/11/1906 and 13/12/1907.