History
Background
Before 1650 it is generally accepted that there were no Baptist Churches in Wales.
The background of the emergence of the Baptist cause in Wales rested in the changes that were taking place in England. During the 1640s and 50s when Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector many new religious beliefs were formulated and what we loosely call "Baptist Churches" began to form, but the restoration of Charles the second in 1660 marked the beginning of a period of
oppression and political, social and religious discrimination which continued until the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The first Conventicle Act of July 1664, which remained in operation until 1667, prohibited all religious services, except Anglican ones, in which there were more present than the family and four others. It was just possible to hold family worship with a few servants only. Those who would not conform to the discipline of the Anglican Church, the "Non Conformists," could not
attend Universities, hold public office or hold services within 5 miles of an incorporated town.
There a was system of fines, increasing on further offences. It was under these circumstances that our forefather held meetings under great difficulties with much depending on the local Squire who might or might not be sympathetic. After the reign of James the Second, who endeavoured to restore the Roman Catholic Church, and the so called "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 they (the RC’s) were seen as the greater threat and things eased a little. The Act of Union
with Scotland of 1707 recognised Presbyterianism as the established faith in that country. Yet the churches described were groups of believers who met in meeting houses, houses and generally not in buildings we would recognise.
This began to change in the eighteenth century when buildings were put up. With the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in 1828, Baptists and other Non-Conformists had greater freedom and the nineteenth century was a time of great expansion and growth, especially in the new Industrial Areas. This caused places of worship to be found in outlandish places away from areas of social activity.
Members of the Abergavenny church came from as far a field as Llangwm and Trydynog (Tredunnock). At a meeting at Brecon in 1656 a list of churches contained such names as Ilston, Carmarthen, Abergavenny, Bredwardine (Hereford), Cludoc, Llangors, and Tredunnock. Tredunnock’s pastor was Walter Prosser. These were possibly groups, not having a building of their own. William Thomas, in the sixteen fifties, emerges as pastor of a church which was
Particular but had an open communion commitment in the parishes of Llangwm and Llantrissent. William Thomas had returned home in 1646/47 and started to gather together the nucleus of a church. From time to time he preached at conventicles Llandegfedd and Llangybi to as many as 30-40, including "responsible" farmers and freeholders. In 1675 Thomas Quarrel was chosen to succeed William Thomas as pastor. He was living in Ty Gwyne, Llangwm, confining himself to Llangwm and Llantrissent.
Six Welsh churches joined the London Association in 1689, among them were Llanwenarth which was the old Abergavenny church of John Miles, now extinct, and was referred to as the church of Llanwenarth. The others were Blaenau Gwent, (Aberystruth), Llangwm and Trydynog, the last two being branches, their minister was William Pritchard.
After 1742, Llangwm broke up when its minister became a Quaker, and the members scattered. That was the demise of Llangwm, its members are unknown. We have the John Miles churches (6), and their influence from the west, Ilston (Swansea), Llantrissant (Glam), Carmarthen, Llanwenarth (Abergavenny), Hay on Wye and Rhydwylym formed 1660-70. These, in turn, set up further churches, such as Blaenau Gwent (Abertillery) and Hengoed.
Blaenau Gwent broke from Llanwenarth in 1696 and the two churches, with Hengoed, founded Penygarn, helped to found 1727. The same three, together with Penygarn, helped to found Bethesda, Rogerstone (1742).
In "Hanes Athrofeydd y Bedyddwyr" of 1832, in an appreciation on Miles Harrhy of Penygarn (its first minister), it is stated that, as an itinerant preacher, he visited Glasoced, Goetre, Blaenavon and Risca. There were six people at Glascoed who, either on horseback or foot, crossed the mountains once a month to take communion at their main church, which was Blaenau Gwent. It would seem that the influence of Miles Harrhy (Penygarn) and a family connection of the
Wroths, together with Blaenau Gwent, gave impetus to the small cause. The west met east at this point. Miles Harrhy died in 1776, long before the church at Glascoed was built.
Meeting House
It is tradition that the meeting house was situated below Nine Wells (gone) – a cottage across the road from Glen View – of which one pine end wall still remains. In the nineteen thirties this was a storage place with a galvanised roof and the bedroom floor still intact. Hollowed out of the rock in the stream nearby was a baptising pool with a stone wall to hold the water, this can still
be uncovered. Tradition has it that a man six feet tall was baptised in it, must have been a tight squeeze. In the cottage lived a man by the name of Joseph Wroth, a descendant of William Wroth of Llanvaches the first Nonconformist minister in Wales. He had four daughters, one lived in Blaenau Gwent and was the mother of Lewis Lewis, the first minister.
From this tangled skein of events it is difficult to assess what influence Llangwm and the surrounding causes at Llantrissent, Llangibby and Llandegveth had on the Glascoed cause. As these were "house meetings", and not church buildings (the houses being licensed under the Toleration Act of 1689, for preaching services) giving rise to "meeting house" churches, which flourished. Some of these died out, other arose here and there, right into the nineteen
century.
Glascoed had such a meeting house which functioned in the late eighteenth century. New Inn Methodist Society Howell Harris grouped his adherents into Methodist "Societies" which met in
public houses, barns and houses. These "Societies" contained not only disaffected Anglicans but others, such as Baptists and Congregationalists, as well as others not affiliated anywhere.
The name was without denominational meaning. The New Inn Methodist Society, founded between 1740-1742, had some Congregationalists. A few years earlier such societies had already been formed in Monmouthshire at Goytre, Glascoed, Trevethin, Mynydd Islwyn, Llangattog and Llanfihangel. This fluid situation was only settled when actual churches were
built and were given a name, so which way a group went could be problematical, perhaps
depending on what element was the stronger. A map has been seen which gave the church at Glascoed as Methodist, but this was never so. Perhaps the above had some influence. The Penygarn influence, with Blaenau Gwent, seemed to have settled the matter with Miles Harrhy preaching at intervals.
The First Minister
In 1809 the church at Blaenau Gwent agreed, at a monthly meeting, that Lewis Lewis should exercise his gifts among the people of Glascoed. In 1810 he started to preach at Blaenau Gwent. He applied in 1812 for a licence to preach under the Five Mile Act and came to Glascoed. The church building was complete then, in 1817, it was registered with the Association. Actual date of
completion is not known. The gallery was installed after the completion of the main building.
To reduce the debt they sent their minister on preaching tours and it was during one of these that he caught pneumonia, having slept in a damp bed, and died on May 25 1832. he left a wife and four children. By trade he was a charcoal burner and woodcutter which he carried on during his
ministry. The alder trees of the district making excellent charcoal. Charcoal could be used to burn lime and also in the making of iron.
The Cost
To finance the new chapel, two hundred pounds was loaned by a blacksmith from Llandegveth, his name was James Bodget Morgan (grave at the end of chapel) the loan was repaid by 1828. Officially the debt was given as one hundred and ten pounds (Basset, Welsh Baptists). Forty six pounds was subscribed at the opening service and a further ten pounds on the opening day.
Whether the debt was this amount or a total cost we do not know.
In 1822 the yard surrounding wall was built by John Lewis at a cost of nine pounds and sixpence. The roadway into the chapel was given freehold, being part of a man’s garden. The land for the chapel and graveyard (part) was given by a Quaker, whose identity its unknown.
The original building had no fan lights in the roof (fitted during the ministry of Rev. Cothian Thomas Davies) and the west wall had no windows a stipulation of the land gift, otherwise the attendants at the public house be able to look into the chapel from the garden. James Bodget Morgan from Llanfrechfa, who loaned the £200, later lived at Nine Wells cottage.