Lloyd Street Chapel, Llanelli

Last updated

Lloyd Street, Llanelli was an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Lloyd Street, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. Services at Lloyd Street were conducted in the Welsh language.

The chapel was established in 1886 after a number of members decided to leave the neighbouring Tabernacle church. Tabernacle had been bitterly divided during the ministry of the Rev J. Pandy Williams when the church became embroiled in a row about the constitution of the Bala Theological College. During his ministry a large group of members left to establish Ebenezer and when Pandy Williams left Tabernacle a number of his supporters decided that they could not remain members of the church. [1] On 21 March 1886 members of this group held a meeting at Lakefield School and they included Dr J. A. Jones and Joseph Williams, both of whom were prominent public figures in the town. The church was incorporated on 9 April 1886 and within seventeen months they had built a new chapel in Lloyd Street, ironically within walking distance of Tabernacle. [2]

On 12 July 1887 a memorial stone was laid by Sir Arthur Stepney during a service led by Thomas Johns of Capel Als, Thomas Davies of Siloah and Dewi Medi of Dock Chapel. The formal opening took place over three days from 28 until 30 August 1887. [3]

In 1931, J. Camwy Evans, a native of the Welsh 'colony' in Patagonia, where his parents had emigrated from Crug-y-bar, Carmarthenshire in 1878. Evans had come to Wales as a young man, with little English, to train for the ministry and after sixteen years at Pen-ref Chapel, Caernarfon, he moved to Llanelli. At Caernarfon, Evans had played a prominent role in public life but at Llanelli he concentrated on the chapel and pastoral work. In his history of Llanelli's chapels, Huw Edwards speculates on the reasons for Evans's departure in 1947 to the much smaller church at Nebo, Blaengarw where he remained for seven years before retiring to North Wales. [4]

The chapel closed in June 1991 and the building subsequently suffered from vandalism. The Nicholson organ was smashed by vandals who used the pipes as spears to destroy the ornate ceiling. Eventually the building was demolished in 1997. [5]

The site has been redeveloped with offices of the Probation Service.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanelli</span> Largest town in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Llanelli is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary 10.5 miles (16.9 km) north-west of Swansea and 12 miles (19 km) south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town had a population of 25,168 in 2011, estimated in 2019 at 26,225. The local authority was Llanelli Borough Council when the county of Dyfed existed, but it has been under Carmarthenshire County Council since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmarthen</span> County town of Carmarthenshire, Wales

Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. 8 miles (13 km) north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, down from 15,854 in 2001, but gauged at 16,285 in 2019. It has a claim to be the oldest town in Wales – Old Carmarthen and New Carmarthen became one borough in 1546. It was the most populous borough in Wales in the 16th–18th centuries, described by William Camden as "chief citie of the country". Growth stagnated by the mid-19th century as new settlements developed in the South Wales Coalfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huw Edwards</span> Welsh journalist (born 1961)

Huw Edwards is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents BBC News at Ten, the corporation's flagship news broadcast.

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

Glanamman is a Welsh mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Garnant it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big colliery closed in 1947 and coal has been extracted fitfully since then.

<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">W. Llewelyn Williams</span> Welsh journalist, lawyer and politician

William Llewelyn Williams known as Llewelyn Williams, was a Welsh journalist, lawyer and radical Liberal Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Rees (Y Cynhyrfwr)</span> Welsh Congregationalist minister

The Reverend David Rees was a Welsh Congregational minister of Capel Als chapel Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and an editor of a radical Welsh language Nonconformist periodical titled Y Diwygiwr. Known as 'Y Cynhyrfwr', he held radical political views and opposed the relationship between the Established Church and the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howell Elvet Lewis</span> British poet and preacher

Howell Elvet Lewis, widely known by his bardic name Elfed, was a Welsh Congregational minister, hymn-writer, and devotional poet, who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1924 to 1928.

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

Capel Heol Awst is an Independent Welsh chapel in the town of Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The present building dates from 1826 to 1827, replacing a 1726 building which itself had been enlarged in 1802 and again in 1826 to seat a congregation of 1000. It is located at 7 Friars Park, Carmarthen. It was designated as a Grade II* listed building on 19 May 1981.

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

Tabernacle Chapel is an Independent (Congregational) chapel in the town of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was built in 1872 and is located at 17 Cowell Street. It is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zion Baptist Chapel, Llanelli</span> Church in Wales

Zion or Seion Baptist Chapel is a Baptist chapel in the town of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was built in 1857 and is located at Island Place, close to the junction of Water Street with Upper Park Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williams Pantycelyn Memorial Chapel, Llandovery</span> Church in Wales

The Williams Pantycelyn Memorial Chapel is a Calvinistic Methodist chapel in the town of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The building was constructed between 1886 and 1888 and is located at 4 Stryd y Bont, Llandovery. It was built as a memorial to the Welsh hymn writer William Williams Pantycelyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capel Als, Llanelli</span> Church in 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">Thomas Johns (minister)</span>

Thomas Johns was a Welsh Independent (Congregationalist) minister, best known for his pastorate at Capel Als, Llanelli, one of the largest chapels in Wales, from 1869 until his death in 1914.

Daniel John Davies was a Welsh Independent (Congregationalist) minister and Welsh language poet. He published under the name 'D.J. Davies' and was also well known as 'Davies Capel Als'.

Siloah was an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Copperworks Road, Seaside, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. Services at Siloah were conducted in the Welsh language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soar Chapel, Llanelli</span> Former chapel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Soar Welsh Independent Chapel was an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Marsh Street, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Services at Soar were conducted in the Welsh language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Chapel, Llanelli</span> Former chapel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales

Ebenezer was an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Inkerman Street, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Services at Ebenezer were conducted in the Welsh language.

<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.

References

  1. Edwards 2009, p. 212.
  2. Edwards 2009, pp. 211–2.
  3. Edwards 2009, p. 214.
  4. Edwards 2009, pp. 205–9.
  5. Edwards 2009, p. 209.

Sources

Coordinates: 51°40′47″N4°09′52″W / 51.679796°N 4.164326°W / 51.679796; -4.164326