Mynyddbach Chapel is the oldest

Independent chapel In Welsh and English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political. They were particularly prominent during the W ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. In about 1640 a group of people met on the Sabbath and on week nights to read the Scriptures and have prayer in "Cilfwnwr" farmhouse near

Llangyfelach Llangyfelach is a village and community located in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. Llangyfelach is situated about 4 miles north of the centre of Swansea, just west of Morriston. It falls within the Llangyfelach ward. To the west is open ...

and later at "Tirdwncyn". They continued to meet as a properly constituted church until 1762. Treboeth History Group
/ref> In 1720–59 the minister at "Tirdwncyn" was Samuel Jones. A piece of land was leased in 1761 and a chapel built there shortly afterwards, at Tirdoncyn-newydd near

. In 1867 the new chapel was built; it was extensively renovated in the 1930s. When it was first built, the chapel was at the centre of the

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

movement in Wales. Because of the persecution of the nonconformists it had to be built at least five miles outside the town Boundaries of

. ThisisSouthWales
/ref> In 2011 the chapel was being threatened with demolition, but a group of local people, together with the remaining members and trustees of the chapel under the leadership of Reverend Grenville Fisher, a Congregational minister, established the Mynyddbach Chapel Project. The aim of the project is to secure the future of the building and grounds as an Arts and Culture centre, to serve the local community and the wider area, whilst retaining its religious and spiritual significance. The Mynyddbach Chapel Project operates from the Calon Lân Centre which is based at Mynyddbach Chapel

Mynyddbach Cemetery

John Humphrey, known as God's architect and the architect of the new Mynyddbach chapel, is buried here. He also designed the

Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston The Tabernacle Chapel (''Capel y Tabernacl'' in Welsh), also known as Libanus Chapel, is a Grade I listed chapel on Woodfield Street in Morriston, Swansea, Wales. History Designed by the architect John Humphrey and built at a cost of £15,000 i ...

. The poet

Daniel James (Gwyrosydd) Daniel James (23 January 1848 – 16 March 1920), also known by his bardic name of Gwyrosydd, was a Welsh poet and hymn-writer, best known for writing the words of the popular hymn, "Calon Lân" (published in 1892). Early life Daniel James ca ...

, who wrote the words of the Welsh hymn,

Calon Lân "" () is a Welsh hymn, the words of which were written in the 1890s by Daniel James (Gwyrosydd) and sung to a tune by John Hughes. The song was originally written as a hymn, but has become firmly established as a rugby anthem, associated with ...

, is buried at Mynyddbach. Calon Lân is known as the second National Anthem of Wales.

References

External links

Treboeth History Society
{{coord, 51, 39, 32.00, N, 3, 56, 59, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Chapels in Swansea