Villagers' race on to save 'Cwm Rhondda' chapel

A COMMUNITY is in a race against time to save a Grade II-listed chapel in the heart of a former coal-mining village from potentially being bought by property developers.

- ELLIE GOSLEY

The historic Capel Rhondda, in the former mining village of Hopkinstown, near Pontypridd, was recently put up for sale for just £47,000 after it closed its doors in December 2024.

Amid fears that the building which is famous as the chapel where the hymn Cwm Rhondda, or Bread of Heaven, was first sung could be lost as a community space, one local woman stepped in to create a crowdfunding campaign for residents to try to save it for themselves at the last minute.

Rhian Hopkins, who is from the Rhondda Cynon Taf village and attended Sunday school at the chapel when she was young, said it "would be a real shame if the incredible building which was funded and built by our ancestors" was lost to a property developer who "may not respect the building's history".

"It was built by the community, for the community, so I would like to see it remaining as part of the community," Rhian added.

"My worry is that although it's a Grade II-listed building and will obviously be protected in some way, it's on the market for what is a relatively low price for a property these days. I’m concerned that it could be bought up by a wealthy property developer from outside the area and has no connection to the building.