Canolfan Soar facts for kids
Canolfan Soar is a special community building in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It has a theatre and many other useful spaces. This building used to be an old chapel called Zoar Chapel. It was built a long time ago in the 1700s. It was turned into Canolfan Soar in the early 2000s. It is a "Grade II-listed" building, which means it is important and protected because of its history.
History of Canolfan Soar
Canolfan Soar is located in the town centre. It is a place where people can use both Welsh and English. Inside, you will find a theatre, a dance studio, and rooms for music practice. There is also a café, a book shop, and classrooms. The building has flexible spaces for art shows, meetings, and conferences.
The main part of Canolfan Soar is Theatr Soar. This is a cozy theatre for plays, music, and other performances. It has 200 seats. The first show in the theatre was in February 2011. It took six years of planning, raising money, and building work to change the old Zoar Chapel and the building next to it into Canolfan Soar.
The Zoar Chapel
The original Zoar Chapel was finished in March 1842. It was a Welsh Congregationalist church. This means it was a place of worship for a specific type of Christian group in Wales. The chapel cost £2,300 to build, which was a lot of money back then. It replaced an even older building from 1823.
The Zoar Chapel was made a Grade II-listed building on August 22, 1975. Before it closed in 2005, it was one of the biggest chapels in Wales. A famous composer named Dr. Joseph Parry used to lead singing festivals there for many years. He wrote the well-known song "Myfanwy." These singing festivals were called y Gymanfa Ganu.
Design of the Building
The Zoar Chapel was built with two floors. It was designed in a classic style, which means it looked like old Greek or Roman buildings. The top floor had a special gallery that was shaped like an octagon (an eight-sided shape). This gallery had wooden benches that went up steeply, like steps.
The main building was shaped like a rectangle. It was built using rough rubble stone. The entrances were on the north side, in a balanced design with five sections. The roof was made of slate and had wide eaves (the parts that hang over the walls). The windows on the upper floor were arched. They had fixed iron bars that looked like old Gothic designs.
