Capel Seion

Cadw's description

Location

Situated just NE of village, some 150m NE of parish church, on S side of road behind rubble wall with gate piers and iron gate.

History

Independent chapel of 1844 altered in 1890. First chapel dated from 1823, founded from Capel Sardis. Plaque of 1844 building resited in perimeter wall records T Thomas of Llandovery as builder. Exterior appears substantially of 1844, stucco probably of 1890 as also the doors, and inside the gallery on wooden columns and pews seem of 1844 or mid C19, pulpit and sedd fawr seem of 1890 or late C19, as also possibly the lobby. The ceiling appears C20.

Exterior

Chapel, painted stucco with slate eaves roof. Long-wall two-storey facade with quoins. Two big arched sashes to first floor, earlier C19 intersecting tracery in heads. Two shorter similar windows with fixed 8-pane lights and similar arched heads each side of tall centre arched doorway with paired later C19 3-panel doors and matching intersecting tracery to fanlight. Centre stucco plaque 'Seion 1890'. Vestry added to left, single-storey, projecting, with door and 2 sash windows, later C19. Small left end chimney. Slate-hung right end and rear walls over whitewashed rubble. Right end wall has one small 12-pane horned sash to ground floor. Rear has 2 arched windows, with fixed late C19 glazing, stone sills. Vestry rear has rubble stone walls and brick surround to window.

Interior

Interior partly of 1844 with gallery on 3 sides, on turned wooden columns. Vertical panels to frontal over plain deep cornice, curved angles. Painted panelled pews with shaped bench ends, in 3 blocks, outer blocks inward-facing. Late C19 curved cornered set fawr, with doors in curved angles and late C19 pulpit. Pulpit has stairs up each side, square newels with finials, balustrades to stairs and platform front each side of canted pulpit. Pulpit has fretwork panels. Plaster arch behind pulpit. Gallery has steeply raked pews with straight panelled backs and shaped bench ends. Lobby has centre window with etched and coloured glass margins, and 2 doors in canted sides. Gallery stairs have stick balusters and ramped rails, late C19 bottom newels. Flat ceiling panelled with wooden strips, C20.

Reason for designation

A well-preserved chapel of earlier C19 character with facade on the long wall, and original small-paned sash windows surviving. Good interior with earlier C19 gallery on timber columns.