22086

 

II  

Designated  

23/07/1999  

19/05/2003  

Hope Independent Chapel  

 

Swansea  

Pontardulais  

Swansea  

Pontarddulais  

259058  

203752  

NE  

Situated in the centre of Pontarddulais on the NE side of St. Teilo Street opposite the junction with New Road.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

Independent chapel of 1872 built to designs of the Rev. Thomas Thomas for £1,000. A small chapel of 7.3m by 13.4m had been built in 1869. Thomas White was the builder of the new chapel, Thomas Griffiths carpenter. Improvements were made in 1880. Large vestry added in 1909 to designs by J. Davies & Son of Llanelli, George Mercer of Llanelli contractor, at a cost of £1,419/19/6d (£1,419.97).  

Gable-fronted Independent Chapel of 1872, Gothic style, in coursed brown rock-faced rubble stone with Bathstone dressings and slate roof. Facade has raised coped gable with iron finial. Outer clasping buttresses to angles with octagonal ashlar pinnacles rising from square bases. Two storey, four-window frontage, with paired first floor openings separated by central dividing mid-buttress. First floor openings are paired Y-traceried ashlar windows. Corresponding pointed-headed ground floor doors in gabled ashlar doorcases. Gable has small ashlar trilobe with double hoodmould inscribed "Hope Chapel Built 1872'' between. Flush band beneath. Mid-buttress has coped gable with finial beneath band, set-off at first floor sill level and coped gable with finial at ground floor. Ashlar dressings and quoins. Outer buttresses have 3 set-offs, then square plinths beneath octagonal ashlar shafts with steep pointed octagonal caps bearing iron finials. Centre recessed paired pointed ashlar windows have outer quoins, centre pier and paired hoodmoulds with carved stops. Stone voussoirs. Ashlar sills and thin band each side. Doorcases have flush ashlar surrounds beneath gabled hoods with finials. Blank trefoil to each gable. Boarded timber doors and leaded overlights. Right side is rough rubble stone with pitched slate roof. Seven window range with three buttresses. All lights are tall, pointed headed with brick dressings and reveals. Similar left side, but in rock-faced rubble with flush ashlar heads to windows. Timber Y-tracery glazing. Vestry to rear, possibly the original chapel of 1869, has pointed-headed window to each side of door. Y-tracery glazing. Stucco rendered rear wall. Beyond is two-storey vestry of 1909 with similar unpainted stucco facade each end. Three arched windows to first floor, larger to centre. Ground floor has 2 cambered-headed 12-pane sashes and centre pedimented door. Hoodmoulds to windows. Windows have hoodmoulds and side windows are recessed. Roundel vent to gable and ''1909'' date. Two-storey, 4 window side wall.  

Unusually long chapel interior has 7 bay roof with arch-braced collar trusses on corbels. Ceiled with narrow boarding to line of arch braces and collars. Flat centre has 4 fretwork diamond-shaped vents. Long 3-sided gallery with curved angles on 4x1x4 iron columns, with leaf caps. Additional column behind under deep raked rear gallery. Painted gallery front with long inset cast-iron panels of intricate pattern separated by pilasters with raised motif. Deep cornice below with widely-spaced shaped brackets. Moulded upper cornice, with pilaster caps broken forward. Pine pews with round finials to bench ends. Three blocks, outer pews canted. Canted 3-sided lobby with 3 windows and half-glazed doors. Early C20 coloured glass here and in large main windows above in gallery. Panelled curved-ended plain ''set fawr''. Fine pulpit with curving steps up each side, turned balusters, square newels. Panelled canted pulpit front with rosettes in angles. Big rear organ arch, pointed, moulded on paired short columns. Fine organ by J. Davies & Son, Swansea, dated 1893, with Gothic pine case and painted pipes in 5 bays. Boarded ribbed pointed roof to organ recess. Gallery has raked pews, curved to follow gallery front. Boarded dado continued as stick balusters across windows.  

Included as a well-designed Gothic chapel by the Rev. Thomas Thomas, with galleried interior of unusual length, with fine pulpit and organ. Fine vestry interior of 1909.