Lloyd Street, Llanelli was an Independent (Congregationalist) chapel in Lloyd Street,

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. Services at Lloyd Street were conducted in the Welsh language. The chapel was established in 1886 after a number of members decided to leave the neighbouring

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

church. Tabernacle had been bitterly divided during the ministry of the Rev J. Pandy Williams when the church became embroiled in a row about the constitution of the Bala Theological College. During his ministry a large group of members left to establish

Ebenezer Ebenezer may refer to: Bible * Eben-Ezer, a place mentioned in the Books of Samuel People * Ebenezer (given name), a male given name Places Australia * Ebenezer, New South Wales * Ebenezer, Queensland, a locality in the City of Ipswich * Ebene ...

and when Pandy Williams left Tabernacle a number of his supporters decided that they could not remain members of the church. On 21 March 1886 members of this group held a meeting at Lakefield School and they included Dr J. A. Jones and Joseph Williams, both of whom were prominent public figures in the town. The church was incorporated on 9 April 1886 and within seventeen months they had built a new chapel in Lloyd Street, ironically within walking distance of Tabernacle. On 12 July 1887 a memorial stone was laid by Sir Arthur Stepney during a service led by Thomas Johns of Capel Als, Thomas Davies of Siloah and Dewi Medi of Dock Chapel. The formal opening took place over three days from 28 until 30 August 1887. In 1931, J. Camwy Evans, a native of the Welsh 'colony' in Patagonia, where his parents had emigrated from Crug-y-bar, Carmarthenshire in 1878. Evans had come to Wales as a young man, with little English, to train for the ministry and after sixteen years at Pen-ref Chapel,

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

, he moved to Llanelli. At Caernarfon, Evans had played a prominent role in public life but at Llanelli he concentrated on the chapel and pastoral work. In his history of Llanelli's chapels,

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

speculates on the reasons for Evans's departure in 1947 to the much smaller church at Nebo,

Blaengarw Blaengarw is the uppermost village in the river valley (Cwm Garw) of the River Garw, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. In the English language Blaengarw means the rugged 'front' or 'head' of the valley. The population of Blaengarw ward ...

where he remained for seven years before retiring to North Wales. The chapel closed in June 1991 and the building subsequently suffered from vandalism. The Nicholson organ was smashed by vandals who used the pipes as spears to destroy the ornate ceiling. Eventually the building was demolished in 1997. The site has been redeveloped with offices of the

Probation Service Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarce ...

References

Sources

* {{coord, 51.679796, -4.164326, display=title Chapels in Carmarthenshire Churches in Llanelli Demolished buildings and structures in Wales Buildings and structures demolished in 1997