Newsletter 50 Autumn 2007 Cylchlythyr 50 Hydref 2007 Carmarthen in the Springtime The Spring meeting in 2007 was held on on 12 May in Carmarthen. The members assembled in Heol Awst chapel at 10.30, and after a brief Annual General Meeting at 11.00 were treated to a fine, concise illustrated lecture on ‘Carmarthen - Great Centre of Nonconformity’ by Thomas Lloyd. Mr Lloyd is a specialist on the buildings of South West Wales, and one of the editors of the recent ‘Pevsner’ architectural guides to Pembrokeshire and to Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. This was followed by a video of Heol Awst Chapel with an introduction and commentary by the minister, the Rev. J. Towyn Jones. For more than The wine glass pulpit at Heol Awst forty years in the nineteenth century, the minister of Heol Awst had also been principal of the Academy next door, with which the chapel building was linked. After lunch at the nearby Falcon Hotel we proceeded on our customary tour of the chapels within easy walking distance, visiting the Welsh Presbyterian Heol Dǒr, the Baptist Tabernacl and the English Presbyterian Zion. We then moved on to Tabernacle Baptist Chapel view the site of the former Quaker Meeting House, the former Unitarian chapel Parc y Felfed, and the burial ground of Ebenezer, once a Welsh Wesleyan chapel. A new Methodist chapel now stands nearby. The tour ended at about 4.30 with tea. Capel AGM 2007 Minutes of the Annual General build in the traditional TinTabernacle Meeting style. Yes, you have guessed it – both Carmarthen, 5 May 2007 parties are in contact and pleased with the possibilities. I haven’t heard the 1. Chairman’s Welcome outcome yet but the station may be The Chairman welcomed much larger than was originally members to the meeting. planned! 2. Apologies for Absence Capel has been helping with Apologies were received from ideas for a Welsh Nationality Room at seven members. the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and last year Jonathan 3. Minutes of Last Meeting Jones and I helped arrange a visit to The Minutes of the Meeting held South Wales by a team from Design at Ruthin on 15 October 2005 were Alliance Architects in Pittsburgh. They accepted and confirmed. wanted to see largely unaltered 18th century chapels like those at 4. Matters Arising Maesyronnen, Beili Heulog and Capel- No matters were raised. y-Ffin. A good design was produced but turned out to be $200,000 over budget. 5. Secretary’s Report The new bids are of the Deduct- Since the last AGM in October Alternates type so they don’t yet know 2005 at Ruthin members have enjoyed how the final design will turn out. meetings in Abergavenny and in Llanrwst/Trefriw in 2006. This year the You have seen the result of our October meeting will be held in Colwyn chapel planning application operation in Bay. We also have plans for future the lists in the Newsletters. We scan on meetings in Pembrokeshire and in average 170 applications every week – Welshpool. either by mail or on-line. These include conversions of cowsheds to granny Capel correspondence has been flats, dog kennels to dwellings and even diverse, ranging over photographic a courthouse to a Welsh quilt exhibition projects, artistic events in chapels, centre. For the chapel applications we research into Camm stained glass obtain the plans if possible and send windows, searches for lost chapels as suggestions , comments and sometimes well as lost burial sites, to the transport objections to the Planning Officers. It is of coffins from Paddington to Wales and encouraging to see many extensions what to do with a redundant 1911 Tin and new facilities as well as rebuilt Tabernacle in Reading. The Director of facades and some newly designed the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway chapels in the recent lists. Currently we Company happens to be building a new are concerned about a proposal to station at Furnace Sidings and wants to demolish a building at Cefn Bychan, Newbridge, near Wrexham, which is still hosted site – judging by the substantially the first purpose built communications which refer to it. Most Quaker Meeting House in Wales, dating of you will have seen the large amount from 1703. The relevant authorities of information now available on the have been alerted and CADW is trying Capel site (www.capeli.org.uk). to arrange an internal inspection of the building, which had a first floor meeting I had hoped that a chapel room. Some of you may have seen the maintenance scheme might have pictures of it on display here today. started somewhere in Wales, based on Occasionally for listed chapels or for the Dutch Monumentenwacht idea chapels with special problems I ask our (described as a man in a van with a rod architectural advisors for help. Recent and a ladder). The English Maintain Our examples have been Van Road, Heritage (MOH) schemes are more like Caerphilly, where stone decay possibly two men with a cherrypicker, and the caused by the incorrect layering of latest Diocese of London scheme, sandstone and limestone is a problem. launched in 2006, is available to all At Christchurch, Llandudno, we churches with no charge to smaller objected successfully to the removal of parishes. Many large urban chapels in an unusual set of stained glass Wales, including those being used for windows. In Aberystwyth the conversion commercial activities, seem in urgent of Tabernacl into 14 appartments has need of maintenance and repair, and a been approved for which, we hope, few MOH teams for the chapels would Capel’s suggestions for the spatial be good news. The Government white arrangements behind the front gable paper (dcms) on Heritage Protection for windows and the adjacent plasterwork the 21st Century, published in March will be adopted. 2007, covers both England and Wales, and addresses the call for change and We have new designs for greater public scrutiny in the scheduling Notelets and Christmas cards, based on of historic buildings and landscapes. Catherine Masterman’s watercolours of The proposal for lists of locally Swansea chapels and chapels painted designated buildings would give local specially by Xia Liu, a Chinese artist, authorities power to prevent the living in Liverpool. The Christmas cards demolition and loss of many distinctive will be available this Autumn. local buildings, including some chapels as well. This could be an important A Welsh version of the piece of legislation affecting chapels, Llandudno chapel trail has been and on this optimistic note I conclude. published and the Ruthin and Denbigh Heritage Groups were given Capel material to enable them to produce 6. Treasurer’s Report chapel trails intended for the The Treasurer had prepared the Architectural Heritage Open Days. We Statement of Accounts for the year are still waiting for members to produce ending 31 August 2006. In the trails for their local areas. The new Treasurer’s unavoidable absence this website, which the Chairman was was presented by the Chairman. responsible for getting launched seems Thanks were recorded to Mr Richard G. to be more succesful than the previous Waters for auditing the accounts. 7. Chairman’s Report your behalf I should like to thank him As you have heard in the very warmly for his enormous Secretary’s report, this has been contribution to Capel during the last five another busy year for Capel. I should years. Perhaps only his wife Sheila and like to thank all those who have helped his fellow officers can appreciate how in our work – you the members, those much time and energy he has devoted who serve on the executive committee, to Capel. On a personal note I wish to and my fellow officers. As you are thank him for the extra work he aware from the latest Newsletter, we undertook during my three months have an urgent need for more people to absence following surgery last autumn. take responsibility for aspects of our work. 8. Election of Officers and Committee Members. In addition to acting as Chairman A Secretary is being sought to I also have overall responsibility for our succeed Peter Mason. The other website. I hope you will agree that our Officers and members of the Committee website has shown a great improvement had agreed to continue in office for a this year since we began to use the further year and this was accepted by services of Technoleg Taliesin. It will be the Meeting. transformed again in the next few months as the layout is reviewed. 9. Any Other Business There was no further business. Our Secretary, Dr Peter Mason, will be retiring from office in October. On CCB Capel 2007 Cofnodion Cyfarfod Cyffredinol 4. Materion yn Codi Blynyddol Ni chodwyd unrhyw faterion. Caerfyrddin, 5 Mai 2007 5. Adroddiad yr Ysgrifennydd 1. Croeso’r Cadeirydd Ers y Cyfarfod Cyffredinol di- Croesawyd yr aelodau i’r cyfarfod wethaf yn Rhuthun ym mis Hydref 2005, gan y Cadeirydd. mae’r aelodau wedi mwynhau cyfar- fodydd yn y Fenni a Llanrwst/Trefriw yn 2. Ymddiheuriadau am Absen- 2006. Eleni cynhelir cyfarfod yr hydref oldeb ym Mae Colwyn. Mae gennym hefyd Derbyniwyd ymddiheuriadau oddi gynlluniau am gyfarfodydd yn y dyfodol wrth saith aelod. yn Sir Benfro a’r Trallwng. 3. Cofnodion y Cyfarfod Diwethaf Bu gohebiaeth Capel yn amry- Derbyniwyd a chadarnhawyd cof- wio’n fawr - gan gynnwys prosiectau nodion y cyfarfod yn Rhuthun ar 15 Hy- ffotograffig, digwyddiadau celfyddydol dref 2005. mewn capeli, ymchwil i ffenestri lliw Camm, chwilio am gapeli coll a mannau claddu coll a phroblemau trosglwyddo calonogi i weld llawer o estyniadau a eirch o Paddington i Gymru, beth y gel- chfleusterau newydd a hefyd ailadeiladu lid ei wneud ag eglwys dun a godwyd yn ffasadau, ac ambell gapel wedi’i newydd Reading ym 1911 ac nas defnyddid gynllunio yn y rhestri diweddar.