Our Welsh Chapel Dream

New Keith Brymer Jones series on Channel 4, Sunday 5th May

It’s not long until the first episode of Our Welsh Chapel Dream airs on Channel 4 - tune in at 8pm next Sunday 5th May.

The four part series follows Keith and Marj as we start of the restoration of Capel Salem, a huge chapel in the centre of Pwllheli, Gwynedd.

The chapel was designed by architect Thomas Thomas, and it was built in 1862 for the Calvinistic Methodists. It’s what is known as a ‘gable-fronted chapel’, because it has its entrance on the big gable end. These began to appear across Wales from the 1820s, designed to fit into the street in constricted urban sites and leave flexibility for future extensions (ours was extended to the rear). Thomas is described as "the first national architect of Wales" and the "unchallenged master of chapel architecture in Wales”. He designed at least 119 chapels across Wales - his trademark is the giant arch in the pediment on the front of his buildings, of which ours is a very good example.

Thomas was a Congregational minister at Landore, Swansea. And he made sure he got to preach the first sermon (or one of the first sermons) at each of his new chapels!

Capel Salem translates (roughly) as Peace Chapel. In 1905, Capel Salem, Pwllheli was attracting 930 people for the weekly service. In 1913, it was badly damaged in a fire - apparently started by a local man during a botched burglary - and the remodelled chapel opened in 1915.

The building closed in 2010, the organ and other original features were removed, and then it was bought by Keith and Marj in 2022. Last year, working with Rhodri at Dobson Owen, we applied for planning permission to convert the chapel into home, studio, and community space. And building work is now underway.

Follow the series for news of pigeon poo, dry rot, lots of cobwebs, and a few surprises - but most of all, for an introduction to Pwllheli and the lovely people that live there.

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