Walls with ornamental gates and railings, Bethel Chapel

Cadw's description

Location

To the east, north and west sides of Bethel chapel.

History

Bethel Independent Chapel was rebuilt in 1910 to the design of the architect W Beddoe Rees, closely following the design of Bethania, Maesteg, by the same architect two years earlier.
The element of the design which was original to Bethel was the sitework, consisting of a raised terrace to the building and a set of wrought-iron gates, railings and stone walls. At Bethania Rees also used railings between similar piers, but the design is a more conventional one of bars, rails and scrolls. Although routine as wrought-iron craftsmanship, the gates and railings complement the strong Beaux-Arts architectural design of the chapel. The Bethel wrought ironwork was produced in the forge of W A Baker and Company of Newport, Monmouth, the firm who also produced the cast ironwork of the chapel interior.

Exterior

A boundary wall of Bethel facing Bethel Road, consisting of four gateways in a wall of axe-dressed uncoursed masonry, plus a return wall at the front of the chapel terrace incorporating railings on a low plinth wall each side of a flight of steps, and railings flanking a curving path from the main street gates to the steps and at each side of the steps. The gate piers and the wall piers in other positions are in rock-faced ashlar masonry with cornice copings. A small return section of railings to the west completes the scheme.
Designed as pairs, each gate consists of full-height square bars penetrating three full-width flat rails without swellings, with additional short bars (dog railings) at foot. Each gate has a motif panel centrally with a formalised art-nouveau design of riveted scrolls, and two short horizontal bars each side at lock level. The rails are riveted to the hinge and lock bars. The hinge bars and lock bars terminate in scrolls, and the other bars in square points. The main gate piers have in addition an arched lantern overthrow with decorative scrolls, and there are cast-iron lamp holders mounted on the piers at the head of the stairs.
The ordinary railings protecting the chapel terrace and at each side of the path and steps consist of square-pointed bars of alternating heights held by a bottom rail and a top rail, with braced standards at intervals.

Reason for designation

An ornamental set of gates, railings and associated masonry with formalised decorative features, of group value with Bethel chapel.