The chapel had an ornate interior, including a boarded ceiling with a deeply undercut rose, while the balcony balustrading had a cast iron front with an intricate foliage design.

The earliest Baptist meetings in the area were held in agricultural buildings or in the Long Room of the Farmers Arms in Aberdare.

As the membership grew the building became too small so Carmel was handed over to a smaller English speaking congregation while a new chapel, Calfaria, was built nearby.

At one time in the nineteenth century, Calfaria had over a thousand members but many hundreds were transferred to branch chapels established at the instigation of Thomas Price.

[2] Price, however, ensured that the unity of the Baptist 'family' of churches was maintained by such activities as Baptismal services in the river Cynon and annual eisteddfodau.

[4] In 1913, a local resident recalled: "I remember that once a month on Sunday afternoons, Dr. Price, the Baptist minister, used to baptise his recent converts in the Cynon River, alongside the iron bridge at the bottom of Commercial Street.

"[5]Calfaria retained its pre-eminence among the Baptist churches of the valley although Price's prestige was somewhat undermined by his failure to support Henry Richard at the 1868 General Election.

[9] During his year as president, Calfaria embarked on a significant innovation by opening a recreation ground at the nearby Mardy Field, including two hard tennis courts, two bowling greens and a playing area for children.

In his speech, Llewellyn implied that some member at Calfaria had reservations over the scheme, but he felt that having sport played under the supervision of a religious body brought numerous benefits.

[17] Like so many chapels, the difficulties continued with the decline of the Welsh language in the valley and by 2003 the membership had fallen to 19 with an average attendance of six at the evening service.

In August 2019 it was announced that retired Baptist minister Robert Stivey had bought the Calfaria building (as well as a number of other chapels) with a view of reopening as a community church.