Tin Chapel, Wales

The Tin Chapel was an abandoned tabernacle, located in a picturesque village in Wales. I visited this location several times between 2015 and 2017. Additionally I must have driven past it many more times, while on route to other chapels and other Welsh abandoned places. The chapel had clearly been abandoned for some time, as the woodland had enveloped it. The chapel and its path were completely hidden when viewed from the road. The only telltale sign of the chapel was the small gate betraying the position of the path through the trees.

During 2018, the land around the tiny tin chapel was cleared and some life returned to the chapel. Work is slow but appeared to be ongoing when I passed by again earlier this year.

A little more about this cute abandoned Welsh tin chapel

Unfortunately, little information is available to pin down the history of the tin chapel. This is somewhat surprising, as this has been a relatively well-known abandoned chapel for several years. At the moment, I can’t provide much information about when it opened or closed. All that is known is that is was a subsidiary of a larger church in the same village.

The church is likely a tabernacle. This type of cheaply constructed building is usually a temporary place of worship. They often are used as a stop-gap before a more permanent church can be built.

The tin chapel is built of galvanised iron, with white-painted wooden cladding inside. The floors are rotten, and you can see several holes where it has given way (likely giving a photographer or two a scare!). There is a simple church organ at one end. A simple kitchen stands in a little extension, where tea and refreshments would be made for the congregation. The hall is packed with rusty metal chairs, with canvas seats and backs. The canvas has rotted and is hanging off many of the chairs.