Jerusalem Chapel, Bethesda
Jerusalem Chapel, Bethesda
Capel Jerusalem is a Grade I Calvinistic Methodist (now Presbyterian Church of Wales) chapel on the High Street in Bethesda, Gwynedd, an Italianate palazzo chapel with a horseshoe amphitheatre interior.
- Location
- Bethesda, Gwynedd
- Country
- Wales
- County
- Gwynedd
- City / town
- Bethesda
- Address
- High Street, Bethesda, Gwynedd, LL57 3AY
- Postcode
- LL57 3AY
- Built
- 1842–43; remodelled 1872–75
- Architect
- T. Evans of Bangor (1842); Richard Davies of Caernarfon (1872–75)
- Denomination
- Methodist Church
- Parish
- Jerusalem, Bethesda (Presbyterian Church of Wales)
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Italianate palazzo
- Materials
- Unpainted stucco; hipped slate roof
- Grid reference
- SH 625 667
- Opening hours
- Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
Overview
Cadw records a Calvinistic Methodist chapel built in 1842–43 for £3,400 and remodelled in 1872–75 for £1,778 by Richard Davies of Caernarfon. Coflein names T. Evans of Bangor as architect of the original building. The exterior is a large near-square, two-storey Italianate composition of unpainted stucco with a hipped slate roof and a monumental three-bay porch added in the 1870s. Cadw listed the chapel at Grade I on 25 April 1997 (record 18387), calling it a chapel of remarkable scale and dignity with an interior of exceptional interest.
The 1872–75 remodelling created a U-plan amphitheatre behind a curved inner wall, seating 980, with a saucer-domed ceiling, mahogany pulpit and, from 1903–05, an organ loft for an organ bought from Huddersfield Town Hall. Large schoolrooms and vestries stand behind.
The chapel remains in use for Welsh-language Presbyterian worship. No separate official chapel website was found.