Hen-Dy-Cwrdd disused Unitarian chapel, 47 Mount Pleasant Street, Trecynon, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF44 8NG

Details

Accessibility

Brief description

https://welshchapels.wales/hen-dy-cwrdd/

https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/8941/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hen-Dy-Cwrdd

2025: "Hen-Dy-Cwrdd (The Old Meeting Place) is a disused Unitarian chapel in Trecynon, Aberdare, Wales.[1] Services at the chapel were conducted in the Welsh language. 

With the exception of the twelfth century St John's Church, Hen-Dy-Cwrdd was the oldest place of worship in the Aberdare parish and the only nonconformist chapel to pre-date the industrial revolution.[2] It was established in 1751, by members of the Cwm-y-glo chapel on Merthyr mountain and on land leased from Theophilus Richards.[2] Hen Dy Cwrdd was the third daughter church established, following those at Cefn in 1747 and at Ynysgau in 1749.[3] The original chapel resembled a modest cottage or inn with an outside staircase.[2] It could hold a congregagation of between fifty and a hundred people, and by 1853 it had a membership of sixty.[1]

A number of radical ministers have served at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd. These included Thomas Evans, also known as Tomos Glyn Cothi, a weaver from the Teifi Valley who played a prominent role in the development of Unitarianism in his native area.[1] During the early years of the nineteenth century Evans attracted the attention of the authorities due his Jacobin sympathies, which included the translation of La Marseillaise into Welsh. Ultimately this led to his imprisonment in Carmarthen Gaol in 1811.[1] After his release he was invited to be minister at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd and remained until his death in 1833.[1]

Prominent members of Hen-Dy-Cwrdd include the musician and conductor Griffith Rhys Jones(Caradog), Rhys Hopkin Rhys, landowner and coal agent and W.W. Price, historian of the Aberdare Valley. 

The chapel itself closed in 1994 but the cause was maintained by the transfer of the members to Highland Place Chapel, Aberdare, which continued to be ministered by Eric Jones until his retirement in 2004.[2]

Following the closure of the chapel, the building was acquired by the Welsh Religious Buildings Trust in 2005.[1] Efforts are currently being made to restore the building."

Address

Hen-Dy-Cwrdd disused Unitarian chapel, 47 Mount Pleasant Street, Trecynon, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF44 8NG

Email

Phone

Website

https://welshchapels.wales/hen-dy-cwrdd/

Directions

Just north and behind the Mount Pleasant Hotel, Mount Pleasant St, Trecynon, Aberdare CF44 8NG

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

Visiting by arrangement: 07706091320

Transport

Amenities