Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston

The Tabernacle Chapel[1] (Capel y Tabernacl in Welsh), also known as Libanus Chapel, is a Grade I listed chapel on Woodfield Street in Morriston, Swansea, Wales.

Tabernacle Chapel
Capel y Tabernacl
LocationMorriston, Swansea
CountryWales
DenominationUnion of Welsh Independents
Websitemorristontabernacl.org
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated30 September 1993
Architect(s)John Humphrey
Years built1874-1877, additions through 1890
Completed1872

History

Designed by the architect John Humphrey and built at a cost of £15,000 in 1872 (equivalent to £1 million in 2016[2]), the chapel has seating for 3,000 and has been called the "Nonconformist Cathedral of Wales".[3]

The design was copied many times elsewhere in Wales. The pulpit is the focus and below this is the Sedd Fawr (big seat) for the deacons. The Welsh language inscription above the organ reads Addolwch yr Arglwydd mewn Prydferthwch Sancteiddrwydd (Worship ye the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness), from Psalm 96.[4]

It is used for practice and performance by two local choirs: the Tabernacle Morriston Choir[5] and the Morriston Ladies Choir.[6]

During restoration work in 2012, workers recovered a sixpenny piece placed under the original pinnacle – an unusual feature in a Nonconformist church – in 1872 by the daughter of the builder, industrialist Daniel Edwards.[7]

  • The chapel interior during a choral concert, 2013
  • View from the pulpit

References
  1. Morriston Tabernacle Chapel
  2. United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2018). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  3. "The architecture of Wales: Religious Architecture: Libanus (Tabernacle) Chapel, Morriston". National Library of Wales. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013.
  4. Keen, Richard and Burgum, Ian. Wales. Orion Publishing Group (1997) pg. 125.
  5. Morriston Tabernacle Choir
  6. "Morriston Ladies Choir". Archived from the original on 2003-12-04.
  7. "Historic sixpence found at Nonconformist 'cathedral' ", Heritage in Wales, no 52. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

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