Seion

Cadw's description

Location

Situated just N of village, some 150m N of churchyard, on E side of road.

History

Calvinistic Methodist chapel first built in 1797, renewed 1810, rebuilt 1847 and remodelled and extended in 1875 for £750. Under conversion to house 1998-9.

Exterior

Former chapel and vestry, stucco with slate roofs and bracketed eaves. Front has chapel of 1847 to left with stucco detail added 1875, when vestry was added to right. Chapel has side-wall facade of 2 long centre windows, 2 doors flanking and then 2 outer gallery lights, all arched with small-paned glazing, marginal glazing bars and radiating bars to heads. Opaque glass with acid-etched patterning, and coloured glass to margins. Moulded heads to arches all with keystones and impost bands, plain to ground floor where it forms the sill-band to the centre windows, moulded to upper level. Four-panel paired doors. Rusticated quoins to left corner. Left end wall is whitewashed rubble with overhanging verges and one central small-paned sash each floor, with stone voussoirs. Rear has similar 2-storey, 2-window range.
To right of front, the added vestry projects with matching details. Entry in N facing return wall, set to right, a 4-panel door up steps with fanlight, moulded arched head, and keystone. The two bands are continued around from chapel front, the upper band at impost level of windows, the lower band is broken by door. Window to first floor left matches adjoining gallery light, similar glazing also. Main gable has rusticated quoins, overhanging verges and fine first floor arched triplet, the centre light larger and the piers between treated as pilasters. Plain basement door to ground floor right. Windows have similar glazing with marginal and radiating bars, but clear glass.

Interior

Interior proposed for removal in 1998-9 had 3-sided gallery with canted angles, on 6 iron columns. Gallery front had cornice on deep brackets, under long horizontal panels and moulded top rail. Panelled pine pews. Great seat with thin balustrade to back, interrupted for centre reading-desk, and returned each end, with ball-finials to corner and end posts. Pulpit had heavy canted front, panelled with various shades of graining. Front book-rest on consoles. Steps up each side. Plain boarded ceiling. 1875 addition has ground floor probably stable.

Reason for designation

Included despite loss of interior for the striking exterior, a side-wall chapel of 1847 embellished in stucco in 1875 to match big schoolroom addition.