Capel Soar y Mynydd

Capel Soar y Mynydd (Zoar Chapel of the Mountains) was built in 1822 through the enthusiasm of the Revd Ebenezer Richard, a Calvinistic Methodist minister and through the donation of land by John Jones, a local farmer. Zoar, a common Welsh chapel name, was one of the five cities mentioned in the Old Testament which were slated for destruction by God but it was spared to provide a refuge for Lot and his daughters. The chapel and its associated two-storey house was built using stone from the nearby riverbed and from ruins of other buildings. The adjoining house was built to accommodate the minister and the far left hand door served a small schoolroom for local children. Once there were 40 or so sheep farms in the locality whose farmers and their families would attend services while their children would receive a small measure of education. The inside has a wall painting dating from 1911, 'Duw cariad yw', meaning 'God is love' in the Welsh language. The cold winter of 1947 began the decline in local farming and hence chapel attendance. Many farms were cut off for weeks by snow and in the following years farms were sold off to the Forestry Commission and later when valleys were flooded to create the Llyn Brianne reservoir. By 1968 membership had declined to just two. However, the chapel was saved in the 1970s when it was on the brink of closure with a series of monthly services in Welsh in the summer months from May to October which nowadays draw a wide congregation from far afield across Wales and a variety of well-known Welsh ministers eager to facilitate the simple ceremonies. Generally open in the summer months for visitors, it has like many other places of worship been locked and empty during 2020. Taken from an article by Brian Davies in the Cambrian Mountains Society journal 2020.