24463

 

II  

Designated  

19/12/2000  

19/12/2000  

Capel Pont yr Arw with attached school room  

 

Isle of Anglesey  

Llanfachraeth  

Holyhead  

Llanfachraeth  

231589  

382183  

W  

Set back from the W side of the A5025 at the S end of the village of Llanfachraeth.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

Mid C19 chapel with attached late C19 schoolroom and chapel house. The Baptists were first established in Llanfachraeth in 1786 and a Grant of Certificate awarded in 1812, the current chapel building was probably built during the growth in religious worship throughout the island in the mid C19.  

Gable entry chapel with gabled school room and chapel house built to R (N). The chapel is rendered over rubble, with freestone dressings (moulded eaves cornice and angle quoins) and hipped slate roof. Entrance elevation faces E: outer doorways flank 2 high-set windows, linked by a continuous sill band. Moulded architraves and pediments carried on scrolled brackets to doorways, and similar, though simpler, architraves to 12-pane sash windows. Double doors have diamond studded panels, windows are 12-pane sashes. The simpler L (S) return and rear elevations have 8-paned lights. The gabled school room to the R (N), is also gable entry, with a steeply gabled facade. Similar rendered elevation with moulded eaves and stressed angle quoins. Central gabled porch with side entrance and rectangular window with margin panes. Main school room windows flanking the porch are tall round-arched sashes, also with marginal glazing, in moulded architraves. Above the porch, a stepped tripartite window of small-paned sashes, with a circular ventilation grille over.  

The entrance doors lead into tongue and grooved panelled vestibules set to either side of the set fawr. The set fawr is rectangular with side entrances and raised by one step; the facing panels with raised central bosses. The pulpit is rectangular with an advanced central bay; raised by 3 steps, side entrances with stick balusters and shaped newel posts. The facing panels of the advanced bay have trefoil-headed recesses under a scalloped frieze and flanked by scrolled brackets supporting the reading desk. The flanking panels are similarly detailed but with ogee-headed recesses. Behind the pulpit are recessed plaster panels with wooden surrounds; the lower part with tall rectangular recesses flanked by scrolled brackets supporting shaped pillars and pediment with circular emblem to centre. The set fawr, pulpit and pews are of pitch pine; the pews arranged in 3 ranks, raking, the central with staggered divider. The walls are plastered, with moulded coving. The roof is of 4-bays each with 3 recessed panels, moulded dividers; each panel with ornate floriate light bosses. The school room has a roof of 3-bays, each with central floriate ventilation grille, moulded dividers and tongue and grooved panels. The bays are articulated by arched braces sprung from shaped corbels. The walls are plastered, the lower half with tongue and grooved panelling. There is a panelled door with open pediment which leads to the chapel house to the right.  

Listed as a good C19 chapel and school house group. The chapel retains the simple classical character of a mid C19 building, and a good contemporary interior.