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Non-conformist Chapels in Wales

Wales has many, many chapels of various religious denominations other than the established church, the Church of Wales. Tracing ancestors can be a daunting task if you discover that they attended a non-conformist chapel or church; many towns had chapels on every corner of every street! In an attempt to make finding the various chapels in particular towns, a spreadsheet for each county has been created.

The links for each are listed at the end of this article, but before using these spreadsheets, it is important that you understand what can be found there and where additional information can be found. Although the information was input by different individuals, you will find remarkable consistency throughout the various counties.

The sources used for the spreadsheets are as follows:

Cofrestri Anghydffurfiol Cymru/Nonconformist Registers of Wales, edited by Afydd Ifans and published by The National Library of Wales and The Welsh County Archivists' Group in 1994. This volume contains general information on nonconformism in Wales and a listing of all the record repositories for the various counties, including addresses and telephone numbers (in 1994!). The main body of the book contains chapels and the type of records available and where according to county.

The Religious Census of 1851: A Calendar of the Returns Relating to Wales, Vol I and II, edited by Ieuan Gwynedd Jones and David Williams and published by University of Wales Press in 1976. This book contains information on the actual census and then lists each county by the Civil Registration District and Sub-district at that time, with the chapels and parish church within each area. There is information on membership numbers and dates of origin for each place as provided to the census taker.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. The data used in the spreadsheets was collected from the section of the web site entitled "Coflein," which is the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales. The records provide information about the various chapels in each community and lists the dates of when chapels were built and rebuilt, plus their present day usage. The record is on-going and, therefore, may have additional information to that found on the spreadsheets.

The Parish Churches and Nonconformist Chapels of Wales: Their Records and Where to Find Them, Volune One. This book was written by Bert J. Rawlins and published in 1987 by the Celtic Heritage Research, Salt Lake City. This volume contains an overview of the chapels in the area and then has detailed information for the chapels, but only deals with those in Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. Some of the most valuable detail is that of the origin of each chapel including from where members might have originated.

Archives Wales. The website is part of the National Archives of the United Kingdom and contains all the record holdings in 21 archives in Wales.

The spreadsheets have several columns with the following headings: County, District (in 1851 Census), Sub-district, Parish, Place (not listed separately in some spreadsheets), Chapel, Denomination, Christenings/Births, Marriages, Burials/Deaths, Cause Began/Chapel Erected, Archive, FHL# or MS#, Monumental Inscriptions, Other Record Types, Sources and Notes. Most headings are self-explanatory but some need further explanation: The vital records columns show the dates of records available at the archives shown; the dates when the cause began or the chapel was erected distinguishes between when the denomination began in the area and when the membership erected a chapel; the archives listed are The National Archives (TNA), The National Library of Wales (NLW), County Record Offices or Family History Societies (--RO or --FHS), Sources are abbreviated for convenience but are referenced the first time each is used or at the beginning of the spreadsheet. Users should also note that asterisks are used to indicate variations from the norm or separate records and are explained in the notes or film information.

The links to the county spreadsheets (including the Welsh county names) are listed below:

Anglesey/Mon

Flintshire

Denbighshire/Dinbych

Caernarfonshire

Merionethshire/Meirionnydd

Montgomeryshire/Trefaldwyn

Cardiganshire/Aberteifi

Radnorshire/Maesyfed

Carmarthenshire/Caerfyrddin

Breconshire(Brecknockshire)/Brycheiniog

Monmouthshire/Mynwy

Glamorgan

Pembrokeshire/Penfro