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Article: Welsh Chapels in Crisis.
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- June 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ACCORDING TO CAPEL, the Chapels Heritage Society, Welsh chapels are closing at an alarming rate of one per week. This is a real crisis, not just for folks who enjoy rescuing old architecture, but for Wales as a nation. In many ways, Welsh chapels represent the heart and soul of Wales. They symbolise the history of Wales as it transformed from an agricultural nation in the seventeenth century into a leader of the Industrial Revolution. Anthony Jones, author of Welsh Chapels (1996) describes these often peculiar and not always pleasant-looking structures as `the national architecture of Wales,' yet for too long their influence has been overlooked. Often, they have been ...