Libanus Chapel was a

Calvinistic Methodist Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

chapel in Lewis Street,

Aberaman Aberaman is a village near Aberdare in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. It was heavily dependent on the coal industry and the population, as a result, grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Most of the industry has now ...

, formed as a branch of

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

Trecynon Trecynon is a village near Aberdare situated in the Cynon Valley, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It dates from the early nineteenth century and developed as a result of the opening of the Aberdare Ironworks at Llwydcoed in 1800. Etymology The se ...

. It was founded in the very early days of Aberaman as an industrial settlement, on land donated by

Crawshay Bailey Crawshay Bailey (1789 – 9 January 1872) was an English industrialist who became one of the great iron-masters of Wales. Early life Bailey was born in 1789 in Great Wenham, Suffolk, the son of John Bailey, of Wakefield and his wife Susannah. ...

. Bailey was the owner of the Aberaman Estate since 1837, and his industrial activities were the catalyst for the industrial development of the locality.

Early history

The original chapel was built in Regent Street in 1848, although a Sunday school had been held nearby. The cost of the original building was £500 and the building accommodated a congregation of 550. There were 69 members in 1848 and some members are said to have joined Libanus having left Gwawr Baptist Chapel nearby. A gallery was installed in 1850. By 1853 Libanus had 85 members. A new chapel was built in Lewis Street in 1876. E. M. Evans from

Trefeca Trefeca (also Trefecca, Trevecca, and Trevecka), located between Talgarth and Llangorse Lake in what is now south Powys in Wales, was the birthplace and home of the 18th-century Methodist leader Howell Harris ( cy, Hywel Harris, italic=no). It was ...

College was inaugurated as minister of Libanus on 30 January 1893.

Twentieth century

J. Harris Jones was inaugurated as minister of Libanus on 25 May 1903, having previously been the minister of Llest church in the

Garw Valley Garw Valley (Welsh: ''Cwm Garw'') is a community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As the name suggests, it follows and encompasses the valley of the River Garw. The community includes the villa ...

. The services were presided over by William James, minister of Bethania, Aberdare. Harris Jones remained at Libanus until 1907. In 1907 a split occurred in the church. The reason was that the Calvinistic Methodist district meeting had agreed a pay rise for all ministers in the locality. (In contrast to the Baptists and Independents these decisions were taken centrally, a feature that can be traced back to the secession from the established church.) The deacons at Libanus, several of whom were described as holding socialistic tendencies, objected, as they believed the minister's salary was sufficient. It was soon rumoured that some of the deacons were seeking to be rid of the minister in order to replace him with the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

activist George Bibbings, who was a candidate for the ministry. A long-running dispute transpired, with the church split into two factions who clashed openly and even at times lapsed into physical violence. The majority of the members, in contrast to the deacons, were said to support the minister, while women among the congregation were accused of behaving like suffragettes. A committee was eventually appointed by the district meeting, chaired by the Rev. J. Lewis of Hebron, Godreaman, to seek a resolution. In time the committee resolved to ask the minister to resign his pastorate. Four members of the congregation subsequently wrote to the district meeting seeking to overturn this resolution but it was unanimously endorsed by the district meeting. In September, however, it was reported in the denominational journal, '' Y Goleuad'', that the minister had been advised to resign his pastorate and that he had consented to do so. Electric lighting was installed at Libanus in 1922. A centenary history, by D. J. Jones, was published in 1948.

Later history

The chapel was closed in 1985 and converted into flats circa 2004.

References

Bibliography

External links

Entry at Coflein
{{coord, 51.7037, -3.4313, display=title Chapels in Rhondda Cynon Taf