Zion

Zion English Baptist Chapel (1865-??)

Pleasant St, Pentre

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Photo of Zion taken in 1907. Attrib RCTPA.

Early history of this chapel is readily available, for ANW says the following about Zion, “Zion English Baptist Chapel was established in 1865, as the first English Baptist church in the Rhondda valleys to answer the spiritual needs of the English and Welsh ‘English-only’ immigrants (many of whom came from Montgomeryshire), employed largely in the local coal-mines, notably after the opening of Pentre, Bodringallt and Maendy collieries 1864-1865 and Gelli colliery 1870. The church began in an old cart-shed in Forge Street, Pentre, but services were transferred to Pentre School, Pleasant View. The first meeting-house on the present site in Pleasant Street was completed in November 1868, but increasing numbers of communicants required the construction of a new chapel on the same site 1877-1879. The chapel suffered financial and pastoral difficulties during the first 50 years of its history but growing numbers meant that an extension to the building was required in 1906”.

I have also found two images on RCT’s Photographic Archive of Zion’s United Choral Society in 1918.

http://ljh.d2g.com:81/photos/fulldetails.asp?ID=6599 and http://ljh.d2g.com:81/photos/fulldetails.asp?ID=4914

Coflein’s entry for Zion says, ” Built in 1878. Built in the Classical style, gable entry type. Present status [1998]: demolished.”  This more or less confirms ANW’s start date for the newer building and gives us something to go on for the end date.

The difficulties in finding any further information on this chapel are compounded by the lack of marriage records in the Glamorgan Record Office. Presumably they were never relinquished. Neither does Pentre have an entry under English Baptist Chapels in Slater’s Directory 1880. Nevertheless, according to ANW the GRO does have records of certain items deposited by the chapel between 1865-1966 including:

a mortgage, 1 May 1884; abstract of title [? mid 19th century]-1888 reciting lease for 99 years from George Salisbury to the trustees of Zion Baptist Chapel,1878; trust deed, 1 Feb. 1889; abstract of title of the trustees of the will of the late Crawshay Bailey to freehold hereditaments, part of the Crawshay Baileys’ estate with marginal notes, 1962; conveyance, 1962; memorandum giving names of trustees, 15 Jun. 1919 and 28 Jan. 1961; and a letter concerning improvement grant to 6 Maindy Road, Ton Pentre, from W. Noel Thomas, town clerk, to Walter John Rees, secretary, Zion Baptist Chapel, 16 Augusta Street, Ton Pentre, 26 Jan. 1966.

Sources

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