Soar y mynydd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Capel Soar y mynydd |
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| Type | Chapel |
| Location | Ceredigion, Wales |
| Built | 1803 |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name: Capel Soar y mynydd | |
| Designated | 30 September 1997 |
| Reference no. | 18943 |
| Community | Llanddewi Brefi |
| Principal area | Ceredigion |
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Soar-y-mynydd or Soar y mynydd is a special Christian building called a chapel. It is located in a beautiful, remote part of Ceredigion, Wales. Many people say it is the most distant chapel in all of Wales!
Its name, "Soar y mynydd," means 'Zoar of the mountain' in Welsh. The name "Zoar" comes from an old Bible story in the Book of Genesis. In that story, Zoar was a safe place where a man named Lot and his daughters found shelter. God saved this place when other cities were destroyed.
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Where is Soar-y-mynydd?
Soar-y-mynydd is found in the Cambrian Mountains. It sits in the valley of the Camddwr river. This area is near the eastern edge of Ceredigion.
The chapel is about eight miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Tregaron. You can find it on the road that leads to Llyn Brianne. It's a truly peaceful and quiet spot.
Who are the Calvinistic Methodists?
Soar-y-mynydd is a Calvinist Methodist chapel. This group is a type of Protestant Christian church from Wales. They are also known as the Presbyterian Church of Wales.
Their story began in the late 1730s and 1740s. Preachers like George Whitefield and Howell Harris helped start this movement. They focused on bringing people closer to God through their sermons.
The Calvinistic Methodists became a separate church group after 1821. They wrote down their own rules and beliefs. The Welsh language has always been very important to them. Services at Soar-y-mynydd are still held in Welsh today.
A Look at Its History
The chapel was built in 1822. This was right after the Calvinistic Methodists became their own independent church. A man named Rev. Ebenezer Richard was key to building it. He was a minister from Tregaron.
The land for the chapel was given by John Jones, a farmer from a nearby area. Soar-y-mynydd was built to serve the people living on the sheep farms around it.
In 1968, only two people were regularly attending the chapel. It was almost closed down! But since 1973, the chapel has been saved. It was officially reopened that year.
Now, many people visit Soar-y-mynydd. Special services are held in the summer, usually on the last Sunday in August. Artists also love the chapel. It has been painted by artists like Ogwyn Davies. It has also been featured in poems by writers such as Harri Webb and Iwan Llwyd.
The chapel was closed for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it happily reopened for services in May 2022.
Building and Surroundings
Soar-y-mynydd is a simple building. It is made from local stones found in riverbeds and old farm ruins. The outside walls are painted white. It is considered a special historic building by Cadw, a Welsh heritage group.
The chapel has a traditional rectangular shape. It is connected to a small, two-story house. This house, which has two chimneys, is now empty. The whole building shares one roof made of slate.
You enter the chapel through two pairs of doors on the longer east side. The pulpit, where the preacher stands, is between these two doorways. Above the pulpit, there is a painted sign that says "Duw cariad yw." This means 'God is love' in Welsh. This sign was added in 1911.
The small house attached to the chapel was once a school. Local children went to school there until the 1940s. The chapel area is surrounded by a stone wall and tall, old trees. There is also a graveyard on the east side of the building. The oldest gravestone found there is from 1856. A more recent grave, from 2001, belongs to Professor John Griffiths, a famous cancer surgeon.
