Ebenezer Chapel, Trecynon

The history of Ebenezer dates back to the late eighteenth century when a congregation including Independents and Calvinistic Methodists worshipped together in dwelling houses, and occasionally succeeded in getting an ordained minister to visit them.

[1] A chapel was built in 1811 and although land had been offered by Griffith Davies of Blaengwawr it was decided to build at Trecynon, then known as Heolyfelin, literally the 'Mill Road', a reference to the Aberdare Ironworks at Llwydcoed which were established in 1800.

[2] In 1813, the congregation resolved to call a minister and they chose David Jones, a member of the church at Mynyddbach, near Swansea.

Thomas Rees was succeeded by William Edwards, who remained until his death in 1884, during which time he played a part in founding most of the Independent churches of the Aberdare Valley.

[5] Edwards was a native of Ffestiniog, North Wales, who had worked for several years in the slate quarries before earning enough money to further his education and enter the ministry.

[7] Edwards studied at Brecon College and was invited to be minister at Ebenezer while still a student at that institution, and was inaugurated on 1 and 2 July 1844.

[10] Fothergill's meeting, in October, was equally enthusiastic and presided over by the Baptist minister, William Harris of Heolyfelin.

The revival aroused alarm among ministers for the revolutionary, even anarchistic, impact it had upon chapel congregations and denominational organization.

[14] The local newspaper, the Aberdare Leader, regarded the revival with suspicion from the outset, objecting to the 'abnormal heat' which it engendered.

[15] On Sunday 13 November, the revivalist Evan Roberts held meetings at Bryn Seion chapel in Trecynon.

After he spoke, one of his female companions (whose presence at the meetings was a notable feature of the revival) began to sing a hymn, and was soon joined by the entire congregation.

[16] Both the spontaneity of these meetings and the role played by women contrasted sharply with the conservative nature of nonconformist culture.

Within a week, the editor of the Aberdare Leader' was increasingly strident in his criticism of the revival, with the emotion being compared with the jingoism of the Boer War a few years previously.

Ebenezer's minister, Grawys Jones, was also singled out for criticism for allowing such emotion to be displayed at a meeting where he presided.