History

Methodist church of 1910-11, currently subdivided with the entrance end being the chapel, and the further end being used by a playgroup. Congregation, initially Welsh-speaking, was founded in 1806, and met in a barn belonging to Thomas Morgan. Chapel built in 1843, religious census of 1851 mentions 'Ebenezer or Ely Chapel. By 1874, Sunday School was conducted in English, and by 1879, all services were in English. New chapel was built 1910-11, designed by H. P. Sanders of Cardiff, and built by George Beames of Whitchurch, at a cost of £2,894.10s.0d (£2,894.50). Foundation stone laid November 11th 1910. The new chapel seated 700.

Exterior

The Church is built of Pennant stone with Bath stone ashlar dressings and red tile roofs. Free late Gothic style with some Arts and Crafts influences. Gabled facade divided into three by ashlar-faced buttresses, coped gable and large cross finial. Ashlar flush bands and sill and springing level of main window, narrow vent in gable apex. Broad 4-light centre Gothic traceried window, cambered-headed overall with cusped main lights and three cusped top-lights. Whole surround is flat headed. The ground floor has a broad triple composition of pyramid-roofed single storey wings each side of a Gothic porch flanked by lobbies. Porch is ashlar, gabled with big cross-gabled flanking piers, panel tracery in main gable with cross finial over, smaller finials each side on caps of projecting piers. Broad Tudor-arched moulded doorway, with florid decoration in spandrels. Heavy double panelled doors. Flanking flat roofed lobbies to either side, each having a 3-light mullioned window, the lights are cusped and cambered-headed overall. The outer single storey wings each have a pyramid hipped roof with finial (missing on right wing), front flat-headed 3-light mullioned window, heads at eaves, and buttresses at angles. Sides are similar with 2 x 2-light windows divided by pillar. Windows have leaded lights with some coloured glass.
Sides have lean-to aisle and clerestorey design before projecting double-gable 'transept', plain windows beyond and hipped end to main roof. Aisle has 2 x 3-light similar windows under eaves, and clerestorey has single 3-light window below main eaves. Transepts have slate roofs, coped gables and ashlar in apex double gablet, panel-traceried as on front porch. Clasping angle buttresses and paired long 2-light traceried windows with segmental-pointed heads. To left of east transept, pair of plain windows with C20 replacement lights.
Stuccoed rear elevation with modern alterations.

Interior

Interior not seen at resurvey, description taken from listing inspection (March 1999). Subdivided in later C20. Entrance end original with single end gallery and 3-bay timber Gothic arcades to aisles. Walled across before transepts, with pulpit reset in front of modern wall.
Gallery has single column, painted timber above, then open frontal of pierced Gothic cast-iron uprights, double-curved in profile. Simple Gothic, painted timber arcades of octagonal posts with caps continued up to similar caps under clerestorey, and with plain spandrel panels pierced with trefoils. Glass has Arts and Crafts motifs in blue and green. Elaborately Gothic pulpit in pitch-pine presumably originally raised higher. Traceried panelled sides and front with projecting book rest. Stairs each side have iron balustrades matching ironwork on end gallery. Pews removed, and end of original chapel all altered.

Reasons for Listing

Included, despite interior subdivision, as an accomplished early C20 free Gothic chapel design with an original plan form (e.g. entrance lobbies and side chambers).

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29498887

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)