Gellionnen
Gellionnen Unitarian Chapel
Gellionnen Mountain,
Pontardawe,
Swansea,
West Glamorgan
SA8 4RN
Contact
Tel: 01792 215452
Mobile Tel: 07964 943246
email: sandyb.foraniwel@gmail.com
A Brief History of Gellionnen Chapel
compiled by Marian Littlepage
Gellionnen Chapel was built in 1692 at a crossroads where four roads
converge leading from Swansea to Brecon, Ammanford to Neath.
In the 17th Century, Rev.
Lewis Davies established a Sunday School for all ages which he ran for
more than 40 years, predating Robert Raikes who was honoured as the
official founder of the Sunday School Movement.
In the 18th Century, the
Rev. Josiah Rees became a well known writer and publisher. His son Owen
was a founder member of Longmans Publishing Firm. They shared their
home with Thomas Morgan who was subsequently buried at Gellionnen
Chapel. Renowned for his wide knowledge of herbal remedies, he had been
successfully vaccinating local children against smallpox by using
cowpox many years before Edward Jenner was recognised for his fight
against smallpox.
In the 19th Century,
minister John James was also head of Vardre House Secondary Boarding
School, Clydach. He was a Greek scholar and a great friend of Iolo
Morgannwg. It is said that when a Greek boat was wrecked off the coast
at Llangrannog, John James was called to converse with the shipwrecked
sailors.
In the 20th Century, the
folk of Gellionnen put together a printed collection of their own hymns
and tunes. The chapel also had its own brass band, ready at the drop of
a hat to raise the roof!
By the second half of the
20th Century, the late Dr. Elwyn Davies, minister of Gellionnen and her
daughter chapel the Graig, was writing hymns in Welsh and English.
Lawrence Bowen, organist at the Graig Chapel, was writing hymn tunes
and continues to do so. Lawrence is still the organist at the Graig and
takes great pride in the chapel's pipe organ, a superb instrument built
by the widely and affectionately known Mr "Battleship" Binns. Lawrence
is founder and conductor of the Trebannws Mixed Choir.
Views of the Chapel
All photos by Keith Lewis-Jones
On 14th August, 2011, the Pontardawe Folk Service was held at Gellionnen Chapel.
