Siloa, Aberdare
| Siloa, Aberdare | |
|---|---|
| Location | Green Street, Aberdare |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Independent (Congregationalist) |
| History | |
| Founded | 1841 |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural type | Chapel |
| Style | Early 19th century |
| Completed | 1844 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 900 |
Siloa, Aberdare was the largest of the Welsh Independent, or Congregationalist, chapels in Aberdare. Established in 1844 it remains one of the few Welsh chapels in the locality to remain open today. Siloa was noatble for its long-serving ministers and in over a century there were only three pastorates, namely those of David Price (1843–78), D. Silyn Evans (1880–1930) and R. Ifor Parry (1933–64).
In 1841, Thomas Rees, then minister at Ebenezer, Trecynon began to hold a Sunday school in what was then the adjacent village of Aberdare, and also began to preach in English, with a view of establishing an English-language cause. When Rees departed to Siloah, Llanelli, in early 1842, the original proposal was abandoned but a small group of members from Ebenezer continued to hold meetings, but in the Welsh language. The leading figure was David Price, who had recently moved to Aberdare from the Vale of Neath. At his instigation meeting began to be held in the long room of the Boot Inn, Aberdare. In 1843, fourteen members from Ebenezer, Trecynon, the oldest independent church in the district, sought to be released to establish a new church. Despite the reservations of some older members the request was approved and the new church was named, Siloa, in deference to their former minister's new church in Llanelli. Amongst the original members was David Price, who played an active and direct role in the construction of the original building. The first building cost £600.
Soon after, David Price was ordained as the minister at Siloa, and served as its treasurer for many years. David Price began life as a working miner, and during the Aberdare Strike of 1857–8 he appeared on a platform alongside Henry Austin Bruce, translating his comments into Welsh and relating his own experiences as a young miner on strike many years before in an attempt to persuade the miners to return to work. His views reflected the antipathy of nonconformist leaders towards trade unionism at the time.
Siloa was established at the very time when Aberdare was rapidly developing as an industrial settlement as a result of the growth of the steam coal trade. During Price's pastorate, large numbers of migrants, notably from the rural counties of Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire and Breconshire, stimulated the rapid growth of the membership at Siloa to over 600, making it the most numerous church in the valley in terms of membership by the 1860s. In addition to the membership increase as a result of industrial development, numbers received a considerable boost as a result of the Religious Revival of 1849 and Siloa was rebuilt and enlarged in 1855 at a cost of £719. After the further Religious Revival of 1859, there was another boost in membership and the debts were cleared by 1860.
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