Why Have We Got So Many Chapels in Whitchurch?

In many villages in England quite often there is only a Parish Church and perhaps one or two Nonconformist Chapels. So why, in Whitchurch do we have so many?

We have St Mary’s Parish Church, and the site of the Old St Mary’s too, and of course St Teilo’s

However, if you count the number of chapels in Whitchurch it’s quite surprising. If you include Llandaff North, Rhiwbina and Birchgrove (all of which used to be part of the old Whitchurch Parish), you might count more than a dozen

Starting at the Common, we have Ararat, then Tabernacle, Bethel, Whitchurch Methodist, Bethesda in Ty’n-y-Parc Road and finally the old Whitchurch Hospital chapel. And there’s Ebenezer Welsh Chapel who meet in the Community Hall

In Llandaff North there’s Copleston Road Methodist and Belle Vue Crescent URC, three in Rhiwbina and another three in Tongwynlais. If you count those chapels that have been lost or demolished, there would be another three or four

So why so many?

Up until the early 1600’s, there was only the established church and everyone was expected to attend regularly. Dissenters started meeting in their own homes and in farm outbuildings, but this was very dangerous. There were executions

Locally, the first independent chapels were at Watford in Caerphilly and in central Cardiff. Both starting about 1730

The independent chapels had quite a range of religious views. There were Baptists, Methodists and some truly independent. Some Methodists followed John Calvin’s doctrine of Predestination, whilst others followed John Wesley’s view of Salvation for All. By the 1740’s the rift became too great with some of the independents becoming Calvinistic Methodists and others Wesleyan Methodists. The Calvinistic Methodists later renamed themselves as Presbyterians (and also Congregationalists), whilst the Wesleyan Methodists became simply Methodists

Independents Howell Harris and Daniel Rowlands (both Welsh speakers) preached in Whitchurch around 1739, whilst in 1741 John Wesley and George Whitfield preached in English

The earliest independent chapel in the village was Ebenezer which used a farm building in Pantmawr Road (later called Providence Place) in about 1808. This was Welsh-speaking

About the same time, the Wesleyan Methodists began meeting at a farm building called Penylan (or Penlan) near Melingriffith preaching in English to the newly arrived mill workers

Baptists from Cardiff felt called to start a church in Whitchurch, and after using yet another farm building built a first chapel on Whitchurch Common in 1824 called Ararat. This was also Welsh-speaking

As Whitchurch grew during the 19th century with a steady influx of English speakers, pressure was placed on the Welsh-speaking Baptist and Presbyterian chapels to introduce more English services. Methodists were already mainly English-speaking

A growing village, with more folk seeking Christian services away from the established church saw the chapels expanding and being rebuilt. Ebenezer from Pantmawr Road relocated to the village as Tabernacle in 1866 and Ararat being rebuilt more than once. The Melingriffith Methodists relocated near to the crossroads

As the English language gained superiority in the second half of the century, some of the Welsh language chapels split and built English-speaking chapels as well. Ararat remained Welsh-speaking, but a new English language Bethel chapel was built in 1867. In Tongwynlais, English-speaking Salem separated from Welsh-speaking Ainon

In time, Ararat became (mainly) English-speaking with occasional services in Welsh, as did Tabernacle. The sketch below shows Ararat as it might have looked in 1900

In Rhiwbina, an English-speaking congregationalist chapel was built in 1848, called Beulah

Each of these chapels had a Sunday School, and many village children learned basic reading and writing skills long before any state schools were introduced

Unlike many parts of the UK, nearly all of these chapels remained, and in fact grew again in 1904 with the Welsh Revival. New chapels were being built into the 20th century, with Bethesda in 1926, Rhiwbina Baptist in 1934 and Rhiwbina Methodist in 1936. In Llandaff North, a Gospel Hall was built near to Hailey Park, and an Assembly of God chapel called Rehoboth built in Tongwynlais

Whilst many chapels today have smaller congregations there are exceptions, and nearly all of the late 19th century chapels are still here. In fact, we have a new congregation, Ebenezer, meeting in the Community Hall

Here in 2021, some may say we have much to thank our forebears for

Does anyone have any stories to share?

 

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