Calfaria Chapel, Aberdare facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Calfaria, Aberdare |
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Calfaria, Aberdare, now closed, in 2014
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| OS grid reference | SO00190245 |
| Location | Monk Street, Aberdare |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Baptist |
| History | |
| Founded | 1811 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 1 October 1991 |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Joseph |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Early 19th century |
| Completed | 1852 (replacing earlier building) |
| Construction cost | £1,400 |
| Closed | 2012 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 840 |
Calfaria Baptist Chapel, Aberdare was once one of the biggest Baptist churches in the South Wales Valleys. It was also the oldest Baptist church in the Aberdare valley. The chapel had a beautiful inside, with a fancy ceiling and a balcony decorated with detailed metalwork. These kinds of designs were very popular in Welsh chapels during the late 1800s.
An organ was added to the chapel in 1903. It cost £850, which was a lot of money back then! The organ was played for the very last time in 2012 by Robert Nicholls. This happened during a Radio Cymru broadcast, just before the chapel closed its doors for good.
Contents
How Calfaria Chapel Began
The first Baptist meetings in the Aberdare area were held in simple farm buildings. Sometimes, they met in a large room at the Farmers Arms pub in Aberdare.
In 1811, a small piece of land was rented. By 1812, the first church, called Carmel Baptist Church, was opened. People in the area often called it Penpound. The first minister was William Lewis. The church had a tough start because the Aberdare Ironworks closed down in 1815. William Lewis only stayed as minister for two years.
The Time of Thomas Price
Thomas Price became the minister in 1845. As more and more people joined, the Carmel church building became too small. So, Carmel was given to a smaller group of English-speaking members. A brand new chapel, Calfaria, was built nearby.
Thomas Joseph, an engineer from Hirwaun, designed the new Calfaria chapel. It cost £1,400 to build and could seat 840 people! The building was made even bigger in 1859, and a hall next to it, Calfaria Hall, was built in 1871. The first service at Calfaria was held on February 8, 1852.
By this time, Thomas Price was a very important person in the community. He was well-known for speaking out against the government's 1847 Education Reports. He disagreed with what the local vicar, Rev John Griffith, had told the officials.
At one point in the 1800s, Calfaria Chapel had over a thousand members! But many hundreds of them were sent to start new churches in other areas. Thomas Price helped create these new branch chapels. For example:
- In 1855, 91 members from Calfaria helped start the English Baptist Church at Carmel, Aberdare.
- In 1857, Bethel, Abernant was opened.
- In 1849, 121 members left to form Gwawr, Aberaman.
- In 1862, 163 members went to strengthen Bethel, Abernant.
- In the same year, 131 members left to form a church in Ynyslwyd.
- In 1865, 49 members moved to form Gadlys Church.
In total, 927 people left Calfaria to help start new churches in the area! Even with so many people leaving, Thomas Price made sure all these Baptist churches stayed connected. They did things like holding baptism services together in the Cynon River and having annual eisteddfodau (Welsh festivals of music and poetry).
In 1913, someone who lived in the area remembered:
"I remember that once a month on Sunday afternoons, Dr. Price, the Baptist minister, used to baptise his recent converts in the Cynon River, alongside the iron bridge at the bottom of Commercial Street. I have seen as many as 25 or 30 converts, men and women, on the same afternoon. On these occasions the whole of the Baptist community used to meet at the chapel and march in procession through the streets with the converts, the men converts being attired in long black robes and the women in white. They marched through the streets from the chapel to the place of baptism singing hymns. As a matter of course, large crowds gathered on the river banks to witness the immersions."
Calfaria remained the most important Baptist church in the valley. Thomas Price visited the United States for six months in 1869 with his daughter Emily. When he passed away in 1888, his funeral was one of the largest ever seen in the valley.
James Griffiths Becomes Minister
After Thomas Price died, James Griffiths was chosen to be the new minister. He had been a minister at Calfaria, Llanelli. He officially started his new role at Calfaria on Christmas Day in 1888.
In 1898, the Welsh Baptist Union held its yearly meeting at Calfaria. In 1903, a new organ was bought for the chapel, costing £850.
Griffiths later wrote a book about the church's first 100 years in 1912. The number of members was 537 in 1899. It slowly went down to 420 by 1916 and 396 in 1925.
In 1923, James Griffiths was chosen as the president of the Baptist Union of Wales. During his time as president, Calfaria did something new and exciting. They opened a recreation ground at the nearby Mardy Field! This ground had:
- Two hard tennis courts
- Two bowling greens
- A playing area for children
There was also a pavilion building that could hold 150 people. W.M. Llewellyn, a local official, opened the recreation ground. He said that even though some church members had doubts, having sports run by a religious group was a good idea. He believed that churches needed to offer fun activities to attract people in a modern world. Until World War II started, the chapel even had a lawn tennis team that played against other local teams.
James Griffiths stopped being the minister in 1930 and passed away three years later.
Calfaria in the 20th Century
After James Griffiths, D. Herbert Davies became the minister in 1932. He stayed until 1947.
It took four years to find a new minister. In 1951, H.D. Thomas became the minister. He stayed at Calfaria until 1961. Dennis Jenkins took over in 1962. By 1963, the number of members had dropped to 168.
In the 1970s, Alun Davies became the minister at Calfaria. He had served in other churches before. Alun Davies passed away in 1985, and his funeral was held at Calfaria. His friend, the poet Rhydwen Williams, was part of the service.
Like many chapels, Calfaria faced challenges as the use of the Welsh language declined in the valley. By 2003, there were only 19 members, and on average, only six people attended the evening service. After many years of declining numbers, Calfaria Chapel finally closed in 2012.
In August 2019, it was announced that a retired Baptist minister named Robert Stivey bought the Calfaria building. He plans to reopen it as a community church.
Sources
Online
