For almost 150 years, Bethel Chapel has stood in Newtown but for more than a decade it has been left to ruin.

The last service held at the Welsh Calvinist chapel in New Road was in 2006 and the building was later sold.

Since 2006, the former chapel has been left to rot after years of neglect which residents and politicians have raised concerns.

Constructed between 1875 and 1876, the present Gothic-style building is the third Welsh Calvinist chapel to have been built in Newtown.

County Times:

Bethel Chapel pictured in happier times. Picture: Newtown Local History Group.

It was designed by the famous Liverpool architect, Richard Owens, built at a cost of £2,300 and could seat around 450 people.

Edwin Hughes was the minister at Bethel Chapel between 1998 and 2006. "It had always been a Welsh-language chapel. It was built and paid for by the first congregation. It's stood in Newtown for well over a hundred years," he said.

"By the time it closed, there were around 50 to 60 people attending. And at the time we had a Sunday School so it was quite a lively congregation. A very warm and welcoming place.

County Times:

The ruined interiors of Bethel Chapel. Picture by David Williams.

"There had been quite a few ministers over the years. Very famous ministers to be honest such as Reverend Huw Jones is the most well-known. He was called 'Huw Bach y Bala' and he was quite a popular and well-known national figure. He used to sing on the radio as part of Triawd y Coleg.

"After closing the chapel we joined the congregation in the Crescent. We joined to use the chapel there with two different every Sunday, one Welsh and one English."

The front exterior was built in squared masonry and sandstone dressings with a central door and two buttresses to the main gable(from which spirelets have been removed). The remainder is in yellow brick beneath a slated roof to a tiled ridge. It probably seated about 450 people.

County Times:

The ruined walls of Bethel Chapel. Picture by David Williams.

Bethel Methodist Chapel was built in 1810, rebuilt in 1820 and rebuilt again in 1876. It is believed that the first congregation raised money to build the chapel that stands in New Road today.

The present chapel, dated 1876, was designed by architect Richard Owens of Liverpool and built in the Gothic-style with a gable entry plan and flanking turrets.

County Times:

Bethel Chapel following its roof collapse. Picture by Anwen Parry.

Newtown History Group has appealed to anyone with any photographs or stories about the chapel to email newtownhistorygroup@yahoo.com for a forthcoming Newtonian Volume.