Former Baptist Chapel

Cadw's description

Location

On a prominent corner site, approximately 150m north of Penallt War Memorial.

History

An early C19 chapel dating probably from c1820, built originally with a long (east) wall entry, re-ordered in the late C19 with a gable (south) entry, and extended in the early C20 on the north side with vestries etc.

Exterior

The chapel is built from local conglomerate rubble with dressed stone quoins and voussoirs (painted); half-hipped slate substitute roof. The north vestry is red brick with the roof chiefly in slate.
The south (entrance) elevation has a central round headed doorway with boarded doors with planted ribs. Above this is a circular window with iron glazing and with a cambered head window to each side with metal glazing. The walling was raised in the second build (see History) to enable the inclusion of the side windows for the gallery and to give sufficient headroom. The east elevation has a central blocked round headed doorway, and, at the upper level, two round headed windows with wooden Y-tracery forming Gothic heads. The rear gable has two windows on the main body of the chapel with metal glazing above a red brick lean-to vestry with a tall chimney stack. The other long wall of the chapel is mostly blind but has a small metal framed window.
The small graveyard is surrounded by a rubble wall and has a number of gravestones, the earliest dating from the 1820s.

Interior

The interior was not available for inspection at resurvey but it seems unlikely to have changed since listing. The description is taken from the listing description of 1996.
The roof is ceiled with modern fibrous boarding. Simple wooden pulpit and set fawr enclosure to north end, wooden dado panelling (partially removed). The west wall has a shallow chimney breast (former external stack removed). The floor has wooden boarding (partially removed) over stone flags with the immersion font approximately 2.2m by 1.5m towards the south west corner, stone steps down.
In the first build the set fawr would have been on the west wall opposite the door. The rearrangement of the chapel in the later C19 was to enable the building of a gallery over the new entrance.

Reason for designation

Included as a rural non-conformist chapel, dating from the early C19, which, despite some changes, has retained its character.