Our History.
The Story of Wales’ Grandest Chapel.
"The largest, grandest and most expensive chapel built in Wales"
Professor Anthony Jones, Welsh Chapels, 1996
Built for the People, Raised by a Community.
“The largest, grandest and most expensive chapel built in Wales” is Professor Anthony Jones’ description of Tabernacle in his definitive book on Welsh chapels published in 1996, during the decade in which CADW, the Welsh Government conservation agency, undertook a comprehensive listing exercise which awarded the building Grade 1 status.
Victorian industrialisation had brought rapid population growth to the lower Swansea valley, close to the port of Swansea, as rural workers from all parts of Wales and beyond sought employment in the many tinplate and copper works established in the area.
Welsh Nonconformity and its associated social, cultural and temperance values enjoyed great popularity; a dozen chapels were built in the Morriston area alone during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Tabernacle, planned as the ultimate evocation of the Welsh chapel in terms of architecture, seating capacity and facilities, was completed in 1872 at a staggering cost of £18,000. Although local industrialists contributed men and materials to the effort, the cost equates to approximately £2.6m in today’s values.
From New Libanus to National Landmark.
The design had evolved by three prominent figures in the area: minister Emlyn Jones, architect John Humphrey and builder Daniel Edwards, who had travelled widely throughout Britain to see the newest and best chapels.
They returned to assemble a collage of architectural features which had most impressed them. The West-facing facade, with its eight Corinthian columns and arches, predominates but the North and South elevations are also designed in detail. To the East, a projecting tribune housed the original organ at gallery level and ancillary spaces on the two floors beneath. The chapel interior, an impressive display of the carpenter’s art, is of equal quality with its highly decorated vaulted ceiling, downward-swooping choir gallery and focal pulpit location.
At its opening, the building was described in the national press as ” the one great redeeming feature in that manufacturing area”. The heavy industry is no more but the impact of the building, its spire visible for miles around, remains powerful.
The church members, some 800 in 1872, relocated to the new building from nearby Libanus chapel, dating from 1782, for lack of space; following the fervour of the 1904 Revival, membership of Tabernacle peaked at 1059 in 1910. The architectural drawings indicate that the building would be named New Libanus, updating and retaining the name of the previous chapel, but the foundation stone bears the name Tabernacle. Emlyn Jones’ pioneering work was followed by long ministries by prominent national figures: J.J. Williams (1915-1944) poet and Archdruid of Wales 1936-1938, and Trebor Lloyd Evans (1945-1964) who worked tirelessly to reinvigorate the Welsh language, then in rapid decline, established Ysgol Lonlas, the first Welsh-language primary school in the area and, in Tabernacle, Aelwyd Treforys, a Welsh-speaking activity group affiliated to Urdd Gobaith Cymru ( Welsh League of Youth).
The Organ, the Choir, and the Caretakers.
The Tabernacle Choir, established in 1876, maintains a long tradition of concert-giving in the chapel. Penfro Rowlands, its conductor 1892-1919, composed the hymn tune Blaenwern, known throughout the Christian world and sung at many national occasions. His successor, Edgar Hughson, conducted 24 major choral works in 49 annual concerts during a long tenure and also launched an appeal for a new, comprehensive 3-manual organ of 40 stops to accompany large congregations and choirs adequately.
Specified on a scale to match the building by Herbert Ellingford, Organist at St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, built by the newly amalgamated companies of William Hill & Son, Norman & Beard Ltd. at a cost of £6,000, its 2310 pipes are housed in three cases separated by two stained-glass windows in memory of chapel members who lost their lives in the Great War. It was inaugurated by Ellingford in December 1922 and is a prominent feature of the chapel interior. Subsequently visited by generations of leading preachers, singers and organ recitalists, the building hosted the national Gymanfa Ganu (hymn-singing festival) attended by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, as part of his Investiture celebrations in 1969. Conducted by Alun John, accompanied by Eurfryn John, the Tabernacle organist, it was broadcast live by the BBC, the recording awarded Gold Disc status.
In 1990, following the closure of the chapel which he attended, John Thomas enlisted as a member of Tabernacle. A resourceful patternmaker by profession, owning his own factory in nearby Clydach, he soon showed a lively and knowledgeable interest in the building, commissioning a survey which revealed the extent to which its architecture had suffered from the effects of heavy industry. The leaves atop the Corinthian columns, in particular, had become dangerously fragile as a result of chemical deposits. An appeal was launched, the facade cleaned and restored, the roof space cleared of anti-incendiary materials installed during WW II whilst new Welsh roof slates replaced many damaged originals.
Similarly, the organ, which had performed reliably for 70 years, was showing early signs of failure. Aided by a major Heritage Lottery Fund grant, it was faithfully restored by Harrison & Harrison of Durham in 1998, its pneumatic tubing and still-functioning leather components, by then as fragile as parchment, renewed. The restoration was celebrated in a recital by Thomas Trotter, Birmingham City Organist, whose two predecessors, George Cunningham and George Thalben-Ball, had also played the instrument during the inter-war years.
Welcoming All: A Chapel Reimagined.
Following the listing of the building, its continued programme of historic restoration was underpinned by the adoption of a Quinquennial architectural inspection regime in 2009 and the appointment of a leading conservation architect, Stefan Horowskyj. A £400,000 programme of work undertaken 2010-2013 included restoration of the Eastern elevation, overhaul of the drainage system, replacing plastic downpipes in cast iron as installed in 1872, and work upon the spire including replacing its damaged capstone. During this process the legend, whereby builder Daniel Edwards’ daughter had climbed the wooden scaffolding to place a six penny coin beneath the pinnacle stone, became reality. A new £2 coin, engraved with the profile of the building, was minted and installed in the same position, the original coin and cracked capstone preserved. The 2014 Quinquennial programme included redecoration of the ceiling and scarfing of weather-damaged window frames, replacing original yellow-glass panes lost over the years. 2019 saw replacement of the manually operated winches which lowered the 1872 chandeliers, originally gas-fired, by remotely-operated equivalents, upgrading of lighting and walkways in the roofspace to current Health and Safety standards.
In the face of intense competition, Tabernacle was voted Wales’s favourite place of worship in the National Churches’ Trust nationwide online poll in 2017. True to the congregation’s outward-facing Christian ethos, proceeds from the celebration concert which followed were donated to Ty Olwen, the hospice based at Morriston Hospital.
Despite wide regard for the building expressed by thousands of votes cast at that poll, despite the dedication of dynamic and talented ministers since 1964 (Dewi Eirug Davies,John Watkin, Denzil James and Ieuan Davies) the congregation at Tabernacle has suffered the pattern of decline all too familiar throughout Wales as Sunday social, family and retail patterns have changed. Ironically, a year before the online poll, the Trustees had resolved that Welsh Government intervention was required in the face of declining numbers and advancing age-profile.
An Options Study for future sustainability of the building was commissioned in 2016; its main recommendation was the reordering of the extensive lower-ground vestry areas as a purpose-built community centre. The architectural plans, together with striking images from the restoration programme, were viewed by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, when he revisited the building in 2019, marking the 50th anniversary of his Investiture and of the award of City status to Swansea. An invaluable partnership with Swansea Council, the expertise of its External Funding Team in particular, has generated £1.2m in grant-aid from Wales and Westminster sources to realise the vision.
Major structural changes in the context of Grade 1-listed buildings demand protracted consultation and negotiation with statutory bodies which grant Listed Building Consents, The team, led by architect Amanda Needham and Jacqualyn Box of Swansea Council, had concluded these essential prerequisites in time for the celebration of the building’s 150th anniversary and the centenary of its organ in early December 2022. At a service of praise, presided over by the present minister, Rev. Jill-Hailey Harries, the congregation was joined by local choirs and Welsh-speaking choristers across South Wales in partnership with S4C’s Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol team who recorded the event for an extended edition of the programme which combined musical and documentary elements.
In the vestry, heritage restoration specialists began work which included careful demolition of internal walls in January 2023, completing Phase 1 in June of that year. After a pause of 4 months to accommodate grantor timetables, Phase 2, the reconfiguration and fit-out phase, was delivered by April 2024. A period followed during which prospective users were invited to view the finished result, including disabled facilities, air-conditioning, spaces of various sizes which blend original features with minimalist design and a kitchen of high specification. Tabernacle Centre (Canolfan y Tabernacl) as the lower-ground floor is now known, was officially opened by the internationally renowned Welsh baritone Sir Bryn Terfel on November 23rd, 2024, as he recounted his many appearances at Tabernacle concerts and asserted his belief that community use of historic spaces fosters a sense of place, belonging and community cohesion.
Christian ministry in the broadest sense, its values expressed in words, music and charitable giving, has always been central to the congregation which worships weekly in Morriston’s signature building. The opportunity offered by the new facilities to widen ministry further in a rapidly changing community with a range of social needs is both welcome and necessary. As we move forward, a further phase of improvements funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and CADW is planned with particular emphasis on improving disabled access to the chapel auditorium for worship and concert purposes.