Noddfa, Treorchy facts for kids
Noddfa or Noddfa Welsh Baptist Chapel (Welsh: Capel Bedyddwyr Cymraeg Noddfa) was a very important church in Treorchy, a town in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales. It was one of the biggest and most beautiful Baptist churches in the area. Many people thought it was one of the grandest Welsh chapels ever built.
How Noddfa Began
Noddfa started as a smaller group from another church called Nebo, Ystrad Rhondda. They first set up a meeting room, called a vestry, in September 1866. The main chapel building was built by David Morgan. It officially opened in 1868 with special preaching services. This was a time when the Rhondda Valleys were growing fast with new industries. Because so many people moved to the area, the chapel had to be made bigger very quickly, by 1876.
The chapel was huge, with enough space for about 1,000 people. It had a very fancy inside for a Welsh chapel. There was a beautiful stained glass window of John the Baptist in the entrance area. It also had three walkways, a gallery that went all the way around, and a large, three-manual organ. People often called it "the Rhondda Valley's cathedral of nonconformity" because it was so impressive. Over the years, Noddfa also helped start other churches nearby. These included Ainon and Bethel, and even an English Baptist Church in Treorchy.
Ministers and Members
Noddfa had only four ministers in over a hundred years. These were William Morris (1869–1922), Humphrey Ellis (1924–30), James Morris Lewis (1933–64), and Lewis Young Hayden (1966–78).
The number of people attending Noddfa reached its highest point in 1905, with 713 members. This was right after a big religious event called the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival. Like many other chapels in the industrial valleys of Wales, the number of members slowly went down after that. However, it still had 398 members in 1945.
A big change happened with the Sunday school. After the Second World War, the number of children attending dropped a lot. It went from 198 in 1945 to just 25 by 1965. This showed two things happening in society. First, fewer people were going to church in general. Second, the Welsh language was being used less, especially by young people. By the 1960s, the Sunday school had mostly stopped running. Still, the chapel itself had 208 members as late as 1970.
Music at Noddfa
Noddfa played a very important part in the musical history of the Welsh valleys. The chapel had its own choir, led by John Hughes. They often performed large musical works called oratorios by famous composers like Handel, Mendelssohn, Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart. They would put on three or four such shows every year. There was also a very successful children's choir. In later years, the famous Treorchy Male Voice Choir even used the chapel as their practice place.
Musical performances were a regular part of life at Noddfa. In 1907, a writer reviewing a Christmas concert said that the Noddfa (Treorchy) Choral Society's achievements would be remembered for a long time in the Rhondda Valley's musical history. The choir was led by J.J. Jones, who was also the organist at Noddfa. People said the choir was special because it didn't perform for money. Instead, it wanted to give people "high-class treats" through music. This shows how central Noddfa was to the musical culture of the valley.
What Happened Later
Sadly, Noddfa chapel was badly damaged by a fire in 1986. The fire was started by vandals. After the fire, the building was declared unsafe. It had to be pulled down. The old records of the church are now kept safe at the Glamorgan Archives.
