Rhos Baptist Chapel, Mountain Ash facts for kids

Rhos, Mountain Ash was an important Baptist church located in Mountain Ash, Glamorgan, Wales. This church was special because all its services were held in the Welsh language.

A New Start for Baptists

Baptist families started moving to the Mountain Ash area in the early 1800s. They first joined a church called Calfaria in Aberdare. By 1840, they built their own small church named Nazareth. It opened on July 1, 1841.

The church faced some challenges in the 1840s. But in 1849, Thomas Price, a minister from Calfaria, stepped in to help. He welcomed many new members to the church.

Growing Bigger

By 1853, the Nazareth church was too small for its growing community. So, a new building was constructed by Richard Mathias. It cost £487. The new church opened in November 1853, with Thomas Price leading the first services.

The church was now strong enough to choose its own minister. In April 1855, Reverend William Williams from Lisvane became their new leader. He stayed with Rhos until 1891.

Building Rhos Chapel

During William Williams's time, the Nazareth building became too small again. This was especially true after a big religious movement in 1859. So, the much larger Rhos chapel was built. It cost £1800 and opened on October 6 and 7, 1861.

After Rhos opened, the old Nazareth building became home to a church that held services in English. Rhos was the biggest church in Mountain Ash. It also helped start other churches nearby, like Jerusalem in Penrhiwceiber and Ffrwd in Mountain Ash.

William Williams served as minister until 1891. Then, T.T. Hughes took over from 1893 to 1906. By 1899, the church had 447 members.

Later Years

R.S. Rogers became the minister in 1908. Later, Thomas Edmunds, a member of Rhos, became the leader of the Welsh Baptist Union in 1913.

After Rogers, T.J. Hughes was minister from 1917 to 1919. Daniel Jones then led the church from 1920 until 1948.

The Final Years

The yearly meetings of the Baptist Union of Wales were held at Rhos in 1947. This was just before Daniel Jones finished his long time as minister. R.S. Rogers, who used to be the minister at Rhos, gave a special speech as the Union's leader.

B.J. Jones was the minister from 1950 to 1955. J. Dudley Morgan then became minister in 1959.

Rhos was one of the first churches in the Aberdare Valley to close its doors. It closed in 1973. The building was taken down in 1975. Before it was demolished, the church's organ was moved to another church called Gwawr in Aberaman.