Welsh Journals

Christian convictions. He was a scholar who surpassed other ministers of his day in ability but although he was a substantial preacher he lacked charisma and did not therefore find himself in demand to visit other churches but this redounded to the benefit of Hanover since he was enabled to serve there with a high degree of wisdom and fidelity. The Reverend Glyndwr Harris remarks in his brief history that he 'had a great zeal for the Welsh language which he taught to his neighbours, and in particular to Lady Llanover, and he had a hand in giving her considerable mastery of the language and a passionate devotion to all things Welsh'. Fig. 2: The front of the chapel As early as 1804 moves were made to build a new home for the growing congregation and by 1839 it was completed and dedicated at a bilingual service. The sum of £ 250 was collected prior to the opening day and £ 33 was donated on the day, which probably meant that most of the debt was cleared. The plaque commemorating the event is set above the present entrance and consists of four verses in Welsh from the Old Testament. (see Figure 2) At this point it is worth pausing to attempt an explanation of the unusual name of the chapel, which was also the name of the earlier chapel nearby. In all probability it was thus called as a token of respect for the Hanoverian dynasty which succeeded the reign of Queen Anne who initiated many good endeavours for the benefit of the Church of England but was considered lukewarm in her attitude to Nonconformists. One Welsh historian of the nineteenth century, when explaining the lack of chapel building in Wales from the Restoration to the death of the queen attributes this