Hen Dy Cwrdd Unitarian Chapel

With the exception of the twelfth century St John's Church, Hen-Dy-Cwrdd was the oldest place of worship in the Aberdare parish and the only nonconformist chapel to pre-date the industrial revolution. It was established in 1751, by members of the Cwm-y-glo chapel on Merthyr mountain and on land leased from Theophilus Richards. Hen Dy Cwrdd was the third daughter church established, following those at Cefn in 1747 and at Ynysgau in 1749. The original chapel resembled a modest cottage or inn with an outside staircase. It could hold a congregagation of between fifty and a hundred people, and by 1853 it had a membership of sixty. A number of radical ministers have served at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd. These…

In 1861, the original structure was demolished and replaced by a much larger chapel which, although designed to be simple, resembled many other nonconformist chapels of the era.