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The Great Britain Guide

Chapels · Mid Wales

Capel Eidalwyr

Free admission

Capel Eidalwyr — chapel in Henllan, Ceredigion, Wales.

Capel Eidalwyr, chapels in Mid Wales

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Plan your visit

Typical visit
20 min–45 min
Nearest railway station
Henllan High Level · 0.5 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly

About

Capel Eidalwyr is a chapel in the United Kingdom. Heritage designation: Grade II* listed building. Wikidata describes it as: "chapel in Henllan, Ceredigion, Wales". Coordinates: 52.0356°, -4.3972°.

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From the Wikipedia article

Capel Eidalwyr is a Roman Catholic chapel located on the site of a POW camp at Henllan, Ceredigion, Wales. The chapel was established in a former dormitory by Italian prisoners of war, and was decorated mainly by Mario Ferlito. Now disused, and in some disrepair, the chapel is a Grade II* listed building, described in its Cadw record as a "unique and unusually elaborate example".

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The chapel was the inspiration of Don Ital Padoan, a priest interned at Henllan. Given permission by the camp authorities to convert a Nissen hut previously in use as a dormitory, the prisoners used readily-available materials, including wood from packing cases, empty tinned-food containers, roofing felt and cement bags. Paint was extracted from natural dyes and the painting was principally undertaken by Mario Ferlito. The chapel was formally consecrated in 1944. Felito returned to the camp with seven other former prisoners in 1977.{{efn|Mario Ferlito died in 2008, aged 86, at his home in Ornavasso, Italy. The chapel is open for visits by prior appointment.

Architecture

Thomas Lloyd, Julian Orbach and Robert Scourfield, in their Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion volume of the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, consider the interior decoration of the chapel, "the most remarkable home-made Baroque crafted of scrap materials." The apse is decorated with a fresco of the Last Supper, and the walls with roundels illustrated in a Baroque style. Further decoration is provided by concrete wall mouldings, scraped and painted to resemble marble. Capel Eidalwyr is a Grade II* listed building, its Cadw record describing it as a "unique and unusually elaborate example of a P.O.W. Chapel in Wales”.

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
52.0356, -4.3972
District
Ceredigion
Parish
Llandyfriog
Postcode
SA44 5AN
Parliamentary constituency
Ceredigion Preseli
Phone
+44 7964 404 133
Established
1940
Nearest railway station
Henllan High Level0.5 km

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Capel Eidalwyr?
Capel Eidalwyr is in Mid Wales, United Kingdom (postcode SA44 5AN), in the parish of Llandyfriog.
When was Capel Eidalwyr built?
Built or established in 1940.
Is Capel Eidalwyr a listed building?
Capel Eidalwyr is officially recognised as Grade II* listed building listed.
Is Capel Eidalwyr free to visit?
Yes, Capel Eidalwyr is free to enter.
How do I get to Capel Eidalwyr?
The nearest railway station is Henllan High Level, about 0.5 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode SA44 5AN.