Gorffwysfa Chapel Including Hall Adjoining to the Rear and Railed Forecourt Walls to the Front.

Gorffwysfa Chapel Including Hall Adjoining to the Rear and Railed Forecourt Walls to the Front

A medium-sized galleried chapel in eclectic Victorian Renaissance style. The structure is built of rubble with a slate roof. The facade is constructed of snecked, quarry-dressed blocks with yellow sandstone dressings.

The symmetrical showpiece facade presents three bays. The central entrance bay is advanced and pedimented. The flanking bays have moulded cornices and surmounting balustrades with turned balusters. The central entrance is flanked by two narrow vertical slit lights with a corbel course above. It features fluted brackets on plain pilasters carrying an entablature with moulded cornice and shallow surmounting pediment, leading to 6-panel double doors with 3-pane plain overlight.

The upper level has three arched windows. The central window is larger than those flanking it, with the entire group flanked by Composite pilasters. The windows have moulded archivolts and scrolled keys, with a blind horizontal panel above. The outer bays contain tall continuous lights rising through both floors, arched at the top with scrolled keys, and narrow lozenge-decorated panels defining the floors and dividing the arched upper sections from plain 5-pane rectangular lower windows. Corbelled cills and moulded stringcourse mark the springing of the arches. This facade treatment continues around for one bay onto the sides, matching the outer bay design.

The stuccoed 3-bay side elevations beyond the returned facade bays continue the stringcourse across arched upper windows with scrolled keys. The ground floor has 12-pane recessed sashes. A rectangular pitched-roofed hall adjoins to the rear, its gable end flush with the chapel's west elevation and projecting one bay to the east, forming an L-plan. Narrow arched windows flank a larger blind-arched recess to the west end. A boarded entrance opens to the north elevation of the projecting eastern side.

The forecourt is enclosed by low stone walls with chamfered sandstone copings and plain surmounting railings. The walls continue south along the lane past the chapel's rear. Plain entrance piers with octagonal cappings front the forecourt.

The rectangular internal lobby has a decorative tiled pavement and an 8-pane stained and enamelled glass window. Entrances to left and right lead into the chapel, with gallery steps beyond.

The galleried chapel interior is of conventional form and remains unaltered, with pine joinery throughout. Raked box pews face the deacon's enclosure, surrounded by vertical boarded dado. The gallery is carried on eight slender cast iron columns with simple leaf capitals, bracketted soffit, and moulded, panelled gallery front. The deacon's enclosure is defined by a fixed screen with panelled lower section and turned baluster upper section, corner posts with ball finials. The Sett Fawr is recessed into a large shallow niche with round arch, decorative keystone, and acanthus imposts.

A tripartite pulpit has railed steps leading up on either side, sunk pierced panels to the front, moulded base and brackets flanking the central projecting part. The ceiling is divided into twelve compartments with simple moulded ribbing and console supports at the wall, with two pierced vent roses and two plasterwork roses.

The schoolroom to the rear of the chapel has a 3-bay canted ceiling and parquet floor, simple boarded dado, and 4-panel Victorian doors.