Wood Street Congregational Church was a congregational chapel which formerly stood on Wood Street,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. It was once the largest congregational chapel in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. It was demolished in the 1970s.

Early history

The building which became the church was built in 1858, initially as a

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

hall. It was built as part of Temperance Town, a grid of small streets which formerly occupied much of the area to the north of

Cardiff Central railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Cardiff Central station (26526139271).jpg , caption = 1930s frontage of Cardiff Central station (northern entrance) , borough = Cardiff, City and County of Cardiff , country = Wales , coordin ...

. Within a year of opening, the building became a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

. The acrobat

Charles Blondin Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 182422 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope. During an event in Dublin in ...

performed there in the early 1860s. In the later years of the decade, the building came to the attention of minister William Watkiss (1827-1892), who believed that it would be an ideal venue to fill with crowds of unchurched working people.

Purchase and scandal

Watkiss was assisted in his endeavours by a Mr Ashton, a prominent member of his existing congregation. Under Ashton's expectations, the building was purchased, the local businesses lent generously to the cause, and many residents lent their savings. When the repayment was due, Ashton simply disappeared, never to be seen again. He reportedly left behind £3, a carpet bag and an old coat, and had absconded with £600 in cash () and about the same amount in goods, all on credit. A play called ''Ashton's Little Game'' based on the events was written, and was staged at the Theatre Royal to packed audiences. Fortunately, the Hannah Street Congregational Church (which closed in 2002), together with emergency donations from generous individuals, saved the new church and Watkiss went on to have a successful career as minister. The first service was held on 28 September 1868.

Subsequent history

After renovations and extensions in 1896, Wood Street was the largest

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

in South Wales, with 2000 people regularly attending its services. Although the scandal had not been fatal, the church's finances remained delicate until the late 1910s. In , an adjoining building, the Rapers Hotel, was purchased by the Cardiff & District Congregational Board, and was used by Wood Street as a Sunday School. Lionel B. Fletcher, a well-known Australian evangelist, was minister from 1916 to 1922. The Big Tent Mission, one of the earliest Evangelist movements, pitched its camp behind the church in 1923. The two World Wars, combined with the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, caused the church to fall on leaner times. Temperance Town was demolished in the late 1930s, depriving the church of many of its attendees. The building subsequently fell into a poor condition. In 1964, three young architectural students inspected the run-down building, and discovered that it had several unusual construction quirks: doors that led nowhere, windows which were actually false, and five doors facing onto Havelock Street which had brick walls behind them.

Demolition

After a final service in November 1971, the church closed after 103 years of worship. In 1973, it was demolished and replaced with an office building. It is commemorated with a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

at the location.
Blue Plaque. Retrieved 2017-03-31.

References

{{reflist 19th-century church buildings in Wales Former churches in Cardiff Churches completed in 1858