Beulah Chapel

The chapel, dating back to 1838, was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt in Tollgate Park in Margam opposite a small shopping centre near the Port Talbot steelworks where it reopened in 1976 and is now a Cadw listed building.

The chapel was constructed as part of the village of Groes, created by architect Edward Haycock, Sr. Locally, there is a story that the chapel was ‘round’ so that the devil couldn’t not hide in the corners. However, it is more likely that the design was based on the Chapter House at Margam Park. It was built by Thomas Jenkin in 1838 at the cost of £800 using material from the estate.

In 1974, the government decided to demolish the village as it lay in the path of the new M4 motorway. The chapel was the only building in the village to be saved; it was re-located in 1975–76 to Tollgate Park, a short distance away. It was Grade II listed on 9 January 1976 as the only surviving octagonal chapel in Wales, and a special example of the round-arched style in chapel architecture.

The octagonal chapel is Romanesque in style with coursed sandstone walls and a hipped slate roof. The walls have ashlar pilasters that rise to a pronounced Lombard cornice with false machicolations. The eaves of the roof project out over the walls and the roof is topped by a bell cupola with a tall finial. There is a small entrance bay with a tiled floor. The gallery is supported by two cast-iron columns with ringed capitals and has a straight wood-panelled front with five tiers of pews.