Horeb Congregational Chapel, Park Road, Builth Wells, Breconshire

Description

Name: Horeb Congregational Chapel

Denomination: Congregational (now United Reformed Church)

Built: 1804
Enlarged: 1829
Rebuilt: 1869

Photography: John Ball
Date: 19 February 2010
Camera: Nikon D50 digital SLR

Notes
1. Horeb Chapel was built in 1804 and enlarged in 1829. The rebuild of 1869 was designed by architect R. Moffat Smith of Manchester, and is built in the Lombardic style with a gable-entry plan. [Source: Coflein database: NRPN 6091]
2. Horeb Congregational Chapel was built in 1869 by a Manchester architect for £1800. It was built on the site of an earlier chapel and it too had a spire which was visible from a long way off, making Horeb Chapel something of a local landmark. [Source: Powys Digital History Project]
3. The first Horeb Congregational Chapel established in Builth was completed in 1808 and then enlarged in 1829. So popular did it become that when it was replaced by the current building in 1869, so many people attended the first service at the new church that it had to be held in a field near the Greyhound Hotel instead. It is said that the spire of the new church was built to be one foot higher than St Mary's tower, in an attempt to be 'nearer to God'. [Source: Photographs of Old Builth Wells, Builth Wells & District Historical Society, Gomer Press, Llandysul, 2009; ISBN 978-0-9515114-3-5]

• http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/walespic/churches/builth5.htm (link opens in new window)