Soar Welsh Independent Chapel, Lampeter. A town chapel rebuilt in 1874; photograph showing the congregation leaving the chapel c.1910.

Welsh Nonconformist Chapels: A National Architecture

Welsh chapels are arguably the most iconic buildings in Wales, but also one of the building types most at threat from closure, dereliction, and demolition. From the low-key vernacular chapels of the late 17th century to the confident urban chapels of industrial Wales, in this talk, Royal Commission Senior Investigator (Historic Buildings), Susan Fielding, will give an overview of chapel architecture and its place in Welsh society, as well as discussing the work of the Royal Commission in recording and understanding these important buildings. This illustrated talk will include explaining the layout of a nonconformist chapel, the development from simple, long-wall chapels of the 17^th/18^th centuries to the big show-front chapels of the late 19^th century, and later developments in the 20^th century. It will also discuss some of the major chapel architects, the social and educational uses of chapels, and some specific results from our recording project in terms of numbers, distributions, styles, names, and statistics on demolitions/conversions etc. This talk will be held online next Thursday, 3 June, at 5pm. For further information and booking please visit:

▶ Event: Welsh Nonconformist Chapels: A National Architecture