Tredegarville Baptist Church (also uses the name Tredegarville International Church) is a Baptist chapel in the suburb of Roath, Cardiff. It was established to reach Roman Catholics with the Gospel.

History

The church was founded to serve the new affluent development of

Tredegarville Tredegarville was the name given to an upper class area of streets and villas in Cardiff, Wales, developed during the second half of the 19th century. The area is now part of Roath. History and description Tredegarville consisted of the paralle ...

, which has since been absorbed by Roath. It was formed as an offshoot of Bethany chapel, which was then located in Cardiff City Centre (though would move to suburban premises in

Rhiwbina Rhiwbina ( cy, Rhiwbeina, also ''Rhiwbina'') is a suburb and community in the north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Formerly a small hamlet within the parish of Whitchurch, Rhiwbina was developed throughout the twentieth century, and is now a ...

in the 1950s). The minister of Bethany, Alfred Tilly, together with 111 of his parishioners, left to found the new cause. They began in rooms in City Road in 1860. Work commenced the following year on a permanent place of worship. The site was donated by Lord Tredegar himself, who is said to have insisted that the church be

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

in design. A schoolroom was opened on 3 December 1861, with the chapel itself following in 1862. The limestone used to build the church was once believed to have come from Italy, but is more likely to have hailed from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

as ballast in coal ships. In its earlier years, the church had two small pinnacles on its roof, but these have since been removed. In addition to the gift of the land from Lord Tredegar, the church was generously supported by the wealthy Cory family. Of an evangelical bent, it founded several missions elsewhere in Cardiff and also engaged in missionary work abroad.

William Booth William Booth (10 April 182920 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first " General" (1878–1912). His 1890 book In Darkest England and The Way Out o ...

, the founder of the Salvation Army gave his first worship service in Cardiff at the church in 1863 because of Tredegarville's huge effort in establishing the cause. The missionary to China Timothy Richards was also very grateful to Tredegarville for its financial support in his ministry. Tredegarville's missionary to the Congo Henry Richards is also recognised today as one of the greatest Baptist missionaries of America when it adopted the David Livingstone mission as its own. Grade II Listed since 1999, the church has a present fellowship of around 100. Missionary work is still a feature of its activities, with operations in evangelising Muslims in Roath which is a suburb with a highly diverse ethnic makeup, and in 2013, the church's congregation had members from 84 different nations.

References

{{reflist Churches completed in 1862 Grade II listed churches in Cardiff Baptist churches in Wales Roath