Drawing by Falcon Hildred
Bethania Welsh Independent chapel, Manod Road, Blaenau Ffestiniog, 2001
Bethania was the first Independent chapel established in the parish of Ffestiniog, founded in 1818. The 1839 rebuild was recorded by Falcon in a comprehensive series of drawings. It was later demolished (though the vestry, schoolroom and chapel house remain). The chapel follows the square plan advocated by John Wesley on the basis that it provided the perfect oratory space, in this instance as part of a larger complex of Sunday school, vestry and chapel house. The chapel takes its place among the streets of terraced housing, a reflection that the early nonconformists saw their places of worship as integral to everyday life rather than as buildings to be set apart.
Ref. FHA 01_21