Capel Salem, Pwllheli

Last updated

Capel Salem in 2019 Capel Salem, Pwllheli.jpg
Capel Salem in 2019

Capel Salem is a Grade II listed former chapel in Pwllheli, Gwynedd, Wales. It was originally built in 1862 for the Presbyterian Church of Wales, to the designs of the architect Thomas Thomas of Landore. [1] In 1893 it was remodelled and enlarged. A fire was started in 1913 by a local person who tried to steal money from the chapel; when he found none, he set fire to the building. It was then closed until 1915 after restoration. [2]

In September 2022, the chapel and its adjoining Sunday school annex, which had been on the market for 12 years, were purchased by the potter Keith Brymer Jones and his wife, Marjory Hogarth. Jones stated that they planned to convert the property into a studio and living quarters and eventually to open it up to the local community. [3] A four-part show depicting the initial phase of the renovation, titled "Our Welsh Chapel Dream," is available for streaming on the British television station Channel 4. [4] The limited series reveals the challenges faced by Keith and Marjory, including dry rot, fungus growth, decades of pigeon excrement, and the absence of water and electricity, as well as the reactions of the local citizens of Pwllheli to the repurposing of the building complex.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criccieth</span> Town and community in Gwynedd, Wales

Criccieth, also spelled Cricieth ( ), is a town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, on the boundary between the Llŷn Peninsula and Eifionydd. The town is 5 miles (8 km) west of Porthmadog, 9 miles (14 km) east of Pwllheli and 17 miles (27 km) south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing to 1,753 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pwllheli</span> Town in north-west Wales

Pwllheli is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, which declined slightly to 3,947 in 2021; a large proportion (81%) were Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of the Welsh poet Sir Albert Evans-Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhosllanerchrugog</span> Village in Wales

Rhosllanerchrugog is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. The entire built-up area including Penycae, Ruabon and Cefn Mawr had a population of 25,362.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanystumdwy</span> Human settlement in Wales

Llanystumdwy is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The village lies on the southern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, with a beach facing Cardigan Bay, between Criccieth and Pwllheli at the point where the A497 road crosses the Afon Dwyfor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangennech</span> Village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Llangennech is a village and community in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, which covers an area of 1,222 hectares (4.72 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plas Bodegroes</span>

Plas Bodegroes is a former Georgian country house which stands in its own grounds near Pwllheli, Gwynedd on the Llŷn Peninsula. The grade II* listed building, previously a restaurant is now a self catering holiday home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pen-y-cae, Wrexham</span> Village in Wales

Pen-y-cae is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 3,389. It adjoins the larger village of Rhosllanerchrugog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llithfaen</span> Village in northwest Wales

Llithfaen is a village on the North West of Wales on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, in the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It is within the community of Pistyll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buan, Gwynedd</span> Human settlement in Wales

Buan is a community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, located on the Llŷn Peninsula. It includes the villages of Boduan and Rhydyclafdy, and has a population of 469, increasing to 484 at the 2011 Census. Other settlements include Ceidio, Llandudwen and Llanfihangel Bachellaeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y Ffôr</span> Human settlement in Wales

Y Ffôr is a Welsh village located on the Llŷn Peninsula in the county of Gwynedd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capel Salem, Llanbedr</span> Chapel near Llanbedr, Gwynedd, Wales

Capel Salem is a Grade II listed building in the hamlet of Pentre Gwynfryn, near Llanbedr, Gwynedd, Wales. This Baptist chapel building is located about a mile up river of Llanbedr, on a ridge between the two valleys. It is just 300 yards (270 m) upstream from where the two rivers meet. The building was begun in 1826 and completed in 1851 but ten years later, it was extended to include the chapel house and to remodel the interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Chapel, Trecynon</span> Former chapel in Trecynon, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales

Ebenezer, Trecynon was an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Ebenezer Street, Trecynon, Aberdare, Wales. It was one of the earliest Independent chapels in the Cynon Valley and remained an active place of worship until 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Church of Central London</span> Church

The Welsh Church of Central London, also known as The Welsh Baptist Chapel is a Welsh Baptist church in Eastcastle Street, in the City of Westminster, London, England. The church building is a grade II listed building with Historic England on the National Heritage List for England. It currently performs Baptist services bilingually in English and in Welsh as well as hosting concerts following a merger of the Welsh Baptist church with two nearby Independent churches in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Thomas (architect)</span> Welsh minister and architect (1817–1888)

Thomas Thomas was a Welsh church minister and chapel architect, also known as Thomas Glandŵr. He is described as "the first national architect of Wales" and the "unchallenged master of chapel architecture in Wales in the 1860s".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capel Heol Dŵr, Carmarthen</span> Church in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Capel Heol Dŵr was a Calvinistic Methodist chapel in the town of Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The building dates from 1831 and is located at Water St, Carmarthen. It was designated as a Grade II listed building on 19 May 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capel Als, Llanelli</span> Church in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Capel Als is an Independent (Congregational) chapel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, It is regarded as one of the most significant religious buildings in Wales. Folk tradition suggested that the name refers to a woman named Als, which along with Alys is the Welsh equivalent of the English name Alice, whose cottage stood where the chapel was built. Another theory contends that the Welsh word als translates as rock, and there is a rock-face behind the chapel. However, there is no word "als" in Welsh meaning rock, and so this latter explanation may be safely disregarded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gellionnen Chapel</span> Unitarian place of worship near Pontardawe, South Wales, United Kingdom

Gellionnen Chapel is a Unitarian place of worship near Pontardawe, South Wales, United Kingdom. The chapel was first built in 1692 by Protestant dissenters, becoming Unitarian in the late 18th century. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella body for British Unitarians. Gellionnen Chapel is the oldest Dissenting chapel in the Swansea Valley, is one of the oldest surviving chapels in the region and is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Owens (architect)</span> Welsh architect (1831–1891)

Richard Owens was a Welsh architect, working mostly on urban housing in Liverpool, England and on the construction of chapels in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capel Celyn</span> Human settlement in Wales

Capel Celyn was a rural community to the northwest of Bala in Gwynedd, Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded in the Tryweryn flooding of 1965 to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and Wirral with water for industry. At the time the village was one of the few remaining Welsh-only speaking communities.

References

  1. Salem Chapel (Welsh Calvinistic Methodist), Salem Terrace/Llieniau Uchaf, Pwllheli, Welsh Religious Buildings Trust, retrieved 23 June 2023
  2. Capel Salem, Cadw , retrieved 23 June 2023
  3. Shaw, Amelia (5 October 2022), "Star of The Great Pottery Throw Down buys Pwllheli chapel", Daily Post , retrieved 23 June 2023
  4. Caren Clark (29 May 2024), Our Welsh Chapel Dream: how to watch, interview and everything we know about the renovation show , retrieved 6 June 2024

52°53′23″N4°25′04″W / 52.8897°N 4.4179°W / 52.8897; -4.4179