Capel-y-gro, with Ty-capel and Schoolroom, including railings in front of the graveyard

Cadw's description

Location

The chapel with its associated buildings lies approximately 20 m to the SW of Pont y Bettws, and raised above the SE side of the road. Railed forecourt and graveyard and memorial to right.

History

The Calvinistic Methodist community in Llanfihangel built their first chapel in 1815. The present building is the result of considerable enlargement in 1874. A porch of c1910 has been added to the schoolroom, and a later front porch has been added to the house.

Exterior

The group consists of the chapel with a caretaker's house attached at right angles to the right and a schoolroom attached to the left at front, providing a gable end facing on to the raised and railed forecourt. Built of rubble stonework with slate roofs, red crested tiles to the schoolroom, a central zinc roof vent on the chapel. The gable elevation of the chapel has a central panelled door and triangular overlight, set in a chamfered pyramid-stopped frame under a painted brick lintel with a stone keystone and string. Two tall windows either side, margin glazed, with a hinged light, both with lintels as the door and a further but shorter similar window placed over the door having double margin glazing and coloured glass, a large diagonally set quarry at the centre. Above, a datestone: 'Addoldy y Methodisdiaid Calfinaidd a adeiladwyd yn y flwyddyn 1815, helaethwyd yn y flwyddyn 1874'. Three tiers of purlins with shaped ends support the deep gable verge. The sides and rear of the chapel have similar windows.

The house to the right is contemporary, a single-unit double-pile plan. Nine-paned sash windows, the lower with painted stone lintel. Added pebble-dashed gabled porch with a part-glazed door to right. The schoolroom presents a gabled front to the yard in front of the chapel. Margin glazed sashes each side of an added red-brick gabled porch; the door to one side. Two windows on the road elevation, and in the substructure below, the minister's stable, now a garage.

The forecourt, raised well above the road on a stone retaining wall, is defined by palmette headed railings set on a low stone wall. The railings step back in front of the house, where there is a central iron gate hung on megalithic gate posts. To the right, the graveyard is also raised and railed with trefoil-headed railings, with a small railed enclosure containing the plain pink granite war memorial for Bettws.

Interior

Entered by a porch to the west with two doors to the interior. The chapel has three banks of slightly raked pine pews, the central bank having a staggered centre line. Integral dado. Square set fawr enclosed with panelling. Symmetrical pulpit with straight stairs, turned newels and balusters. Three turned pilasters on the pulpit front matching the newels. The pulpit stands against a pilastered 2-centred arch on the rear wall with a dentilled cornice over, the recess inscribed 'Perchwch dy Nghysegr'. The chapel ceiling is divided by moulded cross beams into 3 bays, each with shaped ceiling features, and a circular moulded one with a ceiling ventilator at the centre. The walls are plastered and there is no gallery.

The schoolroom stands corner to corner with the chapel and has one central collar truss and plastered ceiling and walls, with a boarded dado. Raised desk at the back, placed centrally, and reversible iron-framed pine benches. A door opens at the side into the chapel.

Reason for designation

Included as a good and largely unaltered example of the complete group of buildings provided for a small community by the Calvinistic Methodists in the later C19.