Soar y mynydd
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Soar-y-mynydd or Soar y mynydd is a Calvinist Methodist
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
near the eastern extremity of the large parish of
Llanddewi Brefi Llanddewi Brefi () is a village, parish and community of approximately 500 people in Ceredigion, Wales. In the sixth century, Saint David (in Welsh, ''Dewi Sant''), the patron saint of Wales, held the Synod of Brefi here and it has borne his ...
,
Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
. It is claimed to be the remotest chapel 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 ...
(“capel mwyaf pellennig/anghysbell Cymru gyfan”). Its name is Welsh for ‘Zoar of the mountain’. ''Zoar'' or its Welsh equivalent ''Soar'' is a not uncommon chapel name in Wales which derives from the mention in
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
19:20–30 of the place which served as a sanctuary for
Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
and his daughters and which was spared by
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
when the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
were destroyed.


Location

Soar-y-mynydd stands in the valley of the river
Camddwr : ''For the tributary of the River Wye, see Camddwr, Wye and for the tributary of the River Teifi, see Camddwr, Teifi.'' The Camddwr is a significant right-bank tributary of the River Towy in the eastern part of Ceredigion, mid Wales. It rises on ...
in the
Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains ( cy, Mynyddoedd Cambria, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales. Since the 1950s, its application has becom ...
, near the eastern border of Ceredigion (National Grid Reference SN 7847 5328). It is some eight miles south-east of
Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...
on the road to
Llyn Brianne Llyn Brianne is a man-made lake or Reservoir (water), reservoir in the headwaters of the River Tywi in Wales. Construction The reservoir was constructed by George Wimpey, Wimpey Construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s in order to regul ...
.


Calvinistic Methodists

The Calvinistic Methodists are a Welsh
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
revivalist movement forming the
Presbyterian Church of Wales The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales. History The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
. They trace their origins back to the evangelism and preaching of
George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...
and especially
Howell Harris Howell Harris ( cy, Howel Harris, italic=no; 23 January 1714 – 21 July 1773) was a Calvinistic Methodist evangelist. He was one of the main leaders of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century, along with Daniel Rowland and William Will ...
in the late 1730s and 40s. They formed a separate body from the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
and from other Methodists after 1821, when their Rules of Discipline were published, followed in 1823 by their Confession of Faith based on the predestinationist
Five Points of Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
. The working language of the Calvinistic Methodists has always been
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
, and the services at Soar-y-mynydd are held in Welsh.


History

The chapel was built in 1822, immediately following the independence of the Calvinistic Methodists. The prime mover was Rev. Ebenezer Richard, minister at Tregaron and father of peace campaigner Henry Richard, with his trustees, and the land was provided by John Jones, the then farmer at Nant-llwyd lower down the valley of the river Camddwr. It served the people of the sheep farms for several miles round about. The congregation had fallen to 2 in 1968 and Soar was threatened with closure, but since 1973 its status has been secured. Since its formal reopening in that year, publicity has meant that some well-attended summer services with visiting preachers are now held on the last Sunday in August. The chapel also now attracts artistic attention; it was painted for example by Ogwyn Davies in 1993, and has featured in poems for example by
Harri Webb Harri Webb (7 September 1920 – 31 December 1994) was a Welsh poet, Welsh nationalist, journalist and librarian. Early life Harri Webb was born on 7 September 1920 in Swansea, at 45 Tŷ Coch Road in Sketty, but before he was two the family m ...
and Iwan Llwyd. The chapel closed for two years during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
but reopened for services in May 2022.


Architecture and environment

Soar-y-mynydd is a simple
Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
grade II*-listed building made of local rubble stone collected from riverbeds and ruined farmsteads in the area. It is whitewashed on the outside. It consists of a traditional rectangular side-wall façade chapel at the northern end, attached to a small two-storey house with two chimney-stacks on the ridge, under a single
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
roof; the house is now derelict. The chapel is entered on the longer east side through two pairs of doors, and the
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
is located between the two doorways. A prominent feature is the painted scroll above the pulpit with the text “Duw cariad yw”, i.e. ‘God is love’ (First
Epistle of John The Johannine epistles, the Epistles of John, or the Letters of John are three of the catholic epistles of the New Testament, thought to have been written between 85 and 100 AD. Most scholars agree that all three letters are written by the same a ...
4:8 and 4:16), dating from 1911. The local school met in the chapel-house until the 1940s. The chapel enclosure is walled in stone and skirted by mature trees. On the east side of the building is a graveyard, the oldest apparent stone being from 1856. The most conspicuous is the most recent (2001), that of Professor John Griffiths, a prominent London cancer surgeon.


Sources and literature

Cadw (1997) Listed buildings detail report, records 18943 (building) and 18950 (outbuilding and wall). Evans, Dyfed (1955) Soar y Mynydd. ''Y Cymro'', 8 September 1955. Evans, John (1904) ''Hanes Methodistiaeth rhan ddeheuol Sir Aberteifi, 1735–1900.'' Dolgellau: E. W. Evans. Gruffydd, William John, pseud. ‘Elerydd’, ed. (1994) ''Tua Soar. Capel Soar y Mynydd.'' rd edition (or printing) 1997. Jones, Evan (1979) ''Cymdogaeth Soar-y-mynydd.'' Swansea/Abertawe: Christopher Davies (Cyfres cynefin). Jones, Huw, ed. Lyn Ebenezer (2007) ''Bugail olaf y Cwm.'' Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. Perrin, Jim (2008) Country diary: Soar y Mynydd. ''The Guardian'', 26 July 2008. Richards, E. E. (Lynne) (2004) Soar y Mynydd. ''Cardiganshire Family History Society Journal'' 3.9 (October), 202–205.


References


External links

General: * Coates, Richard (2017) Soar-y-mynydd, Ceredigion. University of the West of England Repositor

* Hicks, Gareth (2007) Ceredigion chapels database: Llanddewi Brefi

* Rees, Ben (2010) Soar-y-Mynydd. Cymanfa’r Sul 2010. Web-page of Cymdeithas Dydd yr Arglwydd yng Nghymru

* Pike, David E. (2011) Soar-y-Mynydd: revival at the remotest chapel in Wales

* Photos of Soar-y-mynydd and the surrounding area today

{{Authority control Methodist churches in Wales Grade II* listed churches in Ceredigion Chapels in Ceredigion