Capel Peniel, Tremadog, Gwynedd, Wales, is a former Calvinist Methodist chapel built in 1808–1809 and completed, to the original plans, in 1849. Among the earliest, if not the earliest, chapel in Wales built to a Neoclassical design, it was hugely influential on subsequent chapel-building throughout the country. Closed as a chapel in 2010, it suffered neglect and was placed on the Heritage at Risk Register before restoration in the 2020s. It now functions as a community hall and is a Grade I listed building.
| Capel Peniel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The chapel in 2022 after restoration | |
  Capel Peniel Location in Gwynedd | |
| 52°56′14″N 4°08′25″W / 52.9372°N 4.1403°W | |
| OS grid reference | SH562398 |
| Location | Tremadog, Gwynedd |
| Country | Wales |
| Denomination | Presbyterian Church of Wales |
| History | |
| Founded | 1808–1809 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 30 March 1951 |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Neoclassical |
History
editThe chapel was built under the patronage, and possibly to the design, of William Madocks. A London-born entrepreneur, Madocks bought land around Porthmadog in Gwynedd, and developed both that and the settlement of Tremadog as speculative enterprises intended to capitalise on the trade route between London and Ireland.[1] Architectural historians suggest that the main inspiration was the London church of St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, designed by Inigo Jones in 1639.[2] The main body of the church was completed between 1808 and 1809, although the erection of the portico was delayed until 1849 owing to a lack of necessary funds.[2]
The building ceased to function as an active chapel in 2010 and was sold to Addoldai Cymru (the Welsh Religious Buildings Trust) for a nominal sum.[3] Funding for repairs to the roof and portico were secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and work was completed in 2020.[4] The contractor was Donald Insall Associates, an architecture practice specialising in historic building restoration.[5] The building now operates as a community hall.[6]
Architecture and influence
editJohn V. Hilling, in his 2018 study, The Architecture of Wales: From the First to the Twenty-first Century, calls Peniel the "harbinger of the style that was to dominate chapel building in Wales".[2] Richard Haslam, Julian Orbach and Adam Voelcker, in their 2009 edition Gwynedd, in the Buildings of Wales series, suggest that the building is unsophisticated,[7] which in all likelihood indicates that, as was common in non-metropolitan centres, the unknown designer was working from what he had seen, either in life or in pattern books, the publication of which soared in the 19th century.[a][2] Haslam, Orbach and Voelcker note that the Tuscan columns of the portico lack entasis (curvature), suggesting that the designer was not a trained architect, but they nonetheless appreciate the chapel's "naïve charm".[7] The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales considers that Welsh non-conformist chapel building, of which Peniel is an important example, amounts to a "national architecture" of Wales.[9] The chapel is a Grade I listed building.[10]
Gallery
edit-
The chapel in 1986 when still in use -
The chapel in 2011 when in disrepair -
The interior in 2012, just after closure
Notes
edit- ^ Hilling notes that many chapels were designed by their ministers, working as "artisan architects". He records that the Reverend Thomas Thomas designed some 900 chapels in the mid-19th century,[2] leading him to be called "the first national architect of Wales".[8].
References
edit- ^ "Peniel, Tremadog". Addoldai Cymru – Welsh Religious Buildings Trust. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Hilling 2018, p. 194.
- ^ Trewyn, Hywel (30 Oct 2016). "Look inside one of Wales' most influential chapels ahead of its £100,000 revamp". North Wales Live. Retrieved 18 Aug 2024.
- ^ "Peniel – Work to date". Addoldai Cymru – Welsh Religious Buildings Trust. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Capel Peniel Roof Repairs". Donald Insall Associates. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Iconic Tremadog chapel restored to original glory". Cambrian News. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Haslam, Orbach & Voelcker 2009, p. 527.
- ^ "Thomas Thomas (1817–1888)". Stained Glass in Wales (University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Welsh Nonconformist Chapels: A National Architecture". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Cadw. "Capel Peniel (Grade I) (4442)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
Sources
edit- Haslam, Richard; Orbach, Julian; Voelcker, Adam (2009). Gwynedd: Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merioneth. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14169-6.
- Hilling, John B. (2018). The Architecture of Wales: From the First to the Twenty-first Century. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-1-786-83284-9.
External links
edit
Media related to Capel Peniel, Tremadog at Wikimedia Commons
