28 Roger Wools discusses developments in recording and preserving redundant Welsh nonconformist chapels REDUNDANT HISTORIC CHAPELSINWALES A CRISIS The columns of The Times during September saw a surprising number of letters about the plight of Nonconformist chapels in Wales. This unusual interest was triggered by a book review from SimonJenkins ofWelsh Chapels (Anthony Jones, 1996) which records the great architectural traditions of chapels including the explosion of building that occurred during the 19th century. The letters highlighted a growing concern in Wales about the numbers of religious buildings, including churches, which have been lost through demolition or insensitive conversion. This was given official expression in a recommendation of the Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons in 1993 that a Redundant Churches and Chapels Fund for Wales should be established on a similar basis to that in England. It is, however, of no surprise to many that three years later these funds still have to be established but some progress has been made during 1996. Cadw-Welsh Historic Monuments, the Welsh Office executive agency responsible for the built heritage within the Principality and equivalent to English Heritage or Historic Scotland, stated that it wishes to support such a fund and arranged a seminar in 1994 to consider the future of redundant historic chapels in Wales. It was organised by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and at its conclusion it was resolved that a working party should be set up. By 1995, a brief had been issued by Cadw to me, as chairman, to review redundant historic chapels and to investigate if any were under threat. Separate discussions were then already underway to consider the considerable problems of the buildings of the disestablished Church in Wales. The working party on chapels completed its public sessions by May 1996 and my report was presented to Cadw shortly afterwards. A COMMON HERITAGE It has taken only a generation for the musical hall joke about the chapels and churches being the only places that open in Wales on a Sunday to be turned on its head. Today many chapels are closed, have been demolished or are almost unrecognisable after conversion. The crucial role which the chapel and Nonconformist religion played in the forging of day-to-day life in Wales is well known to those of us who have grown up in Welsh towns or the countryside, but even today's tourists cannot fail to notice and recognise the presence of the Welsh chapel building throughout the country. The report emphasised the positive contribution of the chapel to the past cultural life and the built cultural heritage of Wales but also the potential of the redundant chapel buildings to contribute to today's society if in different ways. The working party looked at the protection afforded to chapel buildings and was dismayed. We considered that the relatively small number of listed chapel buildings - some 385 out of 6000 chapels - had itself contributed to the loss or unsympathetic conversion of large numbers of chapels. Of these 385, there are only 16 Grade I or II* chapels whereas over half of the 1600 churches in Wales are listed and 60% are Grade I or II*. A body blow to the heritage of Wales was made when the Welsh Office rejected joining in the Heseltine resurvey of 1984-87 with the result that there are still only 17,000 listed buildings in the whole country. There have been serious losses of all building types but most Nonconformist chapels are still standing. The working party affirmed that chapels are an asset of architectural and historic interest and should be retained as a major part of the Welsh heritage. It does seem perverse that, in a time of a resurgence of the Welsh language and a regaining of a sense of national pride, the chapels which promoted Welsh language and culture during periods of great industrial change should be so undervalued. CHANGING CONGREGATIONS The majority of chapels were built in the mid 19th century and their location and size related obviously to past communities sustained mostly by agriculture, iron industries, slate and coal nlining. The architecture of the buildings, as in the rest of the UK, came from the prominence of preaching in Nonconformist worship, with a central pulpit and with fixed pews like an amphitheatre, so that the preacher could be seen and heard by every member of the congregation. They were and remain theatres designed for preaching and are now less suited to the pastoral needs of contemporary congregations. With an estimated reduction in numbers in the congregations of25% in the next five years according to the Methodist Church, the chapels are clearly about to face an unprecedented crisis. Denominational representatives reported to the working party that moves are currently being made to share chapel buildings as a positive step towards closer union and to reduce costs. Since completing my report I have heard that a foundation is helping chapels and Anglican churches to consider sharing buildings. These initiatives, coupled with smaller attendances at services, have already had the result of bringing about the redundancy of many chapels, but as President Regan said "you've seen nothing yet". Reductions in congregations, together with sharply increasing repair costs and a fierce determination to retain as many chapels as possible, have compounded the serious financial position of denominations and individual chapels. In a few areas congregations are thriving and expanding but the situation as a whole shows there is cause for concern. The CONTEXT 52
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