Bethania Presbyterian Church

Bethania Presbyterian Church once stood near the heart of Aberdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. A Calvinistic Methodist chapel, it seated 550 people and had a concealed entrance reached by a long flight of steps. The first building was erected in 1853 on a field called Cae Tirion, part of the Ynyslwyd estate. Evan Griffiths of Aberdare designed the chapel and David Evans built it for £500. The chapel became a Grade II-listed building in 1991 before closing in the early 1990s. The chapel’s history began with a Sunday School held at the Black Lion hotel opposite the site. William James, a minister from Trefin in Pembrokeshire, served from 1870 until 1908 and also sat on the Aberdare School Board. Membership declined after the Second World War, though the opening of Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberdâr briefly revived the Sunday School. In 1965 a service marked the centenary of the Welsh colony in Patagonia. The chapel no longer exists, having been demolished after closure. Its story remains part of Aberdare’s past, linked to the town’s religious and educational life. The Sunday School at the Black Lion hotel started the cause that led to its construction. Evan Griffiths and David Evans played key roles in building the chapel in the 19th century. William James shaped the chapel’s ministry for nearly four decades.