Peniel Chapel

Peniel Chapel (Welsh: Capel Peniel) is a former Calvinistic Methodist chapel in Tremadog, Gwynedd. It is one of five Grade I-listed nonconformist chapels in Wales. It is in a neoclassical style inspired by mid-17th century St Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London. Its interior theater auditorium concept influenced Welsh church architecture from the nineteenth century.

William Alexander Madocks was the founder of the planned settlement of Tremadog in the early nineteenth century. Peniel Chapel was one of the first buildings to be constructed for the settlement. Construction was started in 1808–09. It was completed enough to open on February 18, 1810. The clergyman Thomas Charles of Bala presided over the opening ceremony in English with Madocks and other prominent people in attendance on opening day. There were about 300 people living in the village at the time. The chapel, registered as Peniel and built under the general design of Madocks, was ultimately finished in 1811. The total cost of £858 10s 6d included payments of £264 for wood, £150 to the masons and £121 to the carpenters. There was £643 borrowed with loans of interest from those as far away as Wrexham. There was £263 1s 5d given in donations for the chapel.

An interior gallery was built in 1840 and the exterior portico was completed in 1849. The property was further expanded through the late 19th century, with a dwelling house added in 1850, a schoolroom in 1880, and a new front stage area in 1898. The ceiling was replaced in 1910.

The chapel is at the south end of Tremadog and is located opposite the birthplace of T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"). The chapel has a 46-foot roof span. It faces east with two front doors and sits on the back part of the property. The land was leased for 99 years from Maddocks for a low annual fee. It is a large chapel for its period. Its main feature is the temple gable-end frontage. The side walls are rough rubble stone of large blocks and it has a slate roof of projecting eaves. Its building design was influenced by St Paul's Church in London, originally built in 1633 to a design by Inigo Jones.

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