9834

 

II  

Designated  

21/01/1964  

28/05/2004  

Yr Hen Gapel, retaining wall and gates  

 

Ceredigion  

Llangynfelyn  

Machynlleth  

Tre'r Ddol  

266053  

292352  

 

Situated some 100m N of bridge in Tre'r Ddol.  

Religious, Ritual and Funerary  

 

Wesleyan Methodist chapel, originally called Soar, of 1845, built to replace original 1809 chapel. Of historical interest as the birthplace of the religious revival of 1859 through the Rev. Humphrey R. Jones, evangelical preacher from Gwarcwm Bach in the parish, who returned from America in 1858 and whose preaching has been said to have sparked the revival. The new Soar chapel at the other end of the village was built in 1874 and Yr Hen Capel was then used as a Sunday School. It was sold in 1961 and became a museum, founded by the distinguished scholar R. J. Thomas, primarily to house a religious collection, and then left by him in 1976 to the National Museum of Wales. Since 1991 transferred to Ceredigion District (now County) Council and administered by the Ceredigion Museum, with increased emphasis on the folk life aspect of Tre'r Ddol and its surrounding area.  

Former Soar Chapel, now a museum. Rectangular rubble stone building with dressed stone corner stones, tall single storey and basement. Four asymmetrical bays to front elevation. Slate gabled roof with deep bracketed eaves, in pairs to front and single brackets to gable ends. Front (south east) elevation has double tongue and grooved rectangular front doors with brick voussoirs and slate plaque above: "SOAR A adeiladwyd yn y Flwyddyn 1845", in third bay from left and three large 24-pane horned sash windows with brick voussoirs. Left hand return has two 16-pane hornless sash windows with slightly arched heads and brick voussoirs, lighting basement. Rear elevation has four hornless 16-pane sash windows with brick voussoirs and slate cills to main floor, and right hand aligned basement door with slightly arched head and brick voussoirs. Right hand return has small wooden-doored hatch at attic level. Graveyard to front of chapel has wrought iron double gates to SE, with dogbar with spearheaded finials to dogbars and large diamond shape in lower half, between square stone gate piers with slate coping stones. Rubble stone retaining wall Retaining wall to north west of graveyard of rubble stone with plain buttresses and slate coping.  

Main floor is flat-ceilinged rectangular room, with white-painted lined stucco, wooden floor and slate flagstones to entrance. Ceiling has plaster acanthus rose over pews and two circles to either side of pulpit with a larger central half-circle against pulpit wall. Plaque over doorway "O'r ardal hon yr hanoedd Humphrey Jones y Diwygiwr ac yn y capel hwn y cychwynnodd Diwychad 1859 Ymostyngodd y bobl Ceisiasant wyneb Yr Arglwydd Gwrandawodd Duw o'r Nefoedd ac inchan eu gwlad hwy". Interior is aligned on end-wall pulpit with rear third of raked fixed pews with panelled backs and shaped bench-ends. Two single blocks of pews flanking a central double set with panelled division, the top rail ramped down each tier. Empty section, for benches, between front pews and pulpit. Small platform pulpit with simple 4-panel front to square pulpit, flanked by square-section railings to left and right, all raised on low panelled platform with steps up. Panelled back with bench seat. Both pews and pulpit are painted blue and white. Basement thought to have originally been some sort of accommodation, is to have floor raised (2003) as part of improvements.  

Included as a particularly well-preserved chapel of the earlier C19, with original simple pulpit and pews, and for historical importance in the 1859 revival.