| Yr Hen Gapel | |
| Coordinates: | 51.7869°N -4.4124°W |
| Completion Date: | circa 1300s |
Yr Hen Gapel (Welsh for The Old Chapel) is a now ruined religious building and scheduled ancient monument in the village of Llanybri, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The tower and ruins have been given Grade II heritage listing.[1]
It is unusual in having been subsequently converted for use by a non-conformist congregation.[2]
The remaining chapel consists of a square tower at the western end and a ruined nave to the east, all built from rubble stone. The long walls of the nave are low and have a gap in the south wall for a door. The eastern end wall is approximately 3 metres in height and still retains a traceried window opening with trefoiled heads.
The squat tower has a pyramid-shaped roof. On the west face is a false stone clockface dated 1879, with the 'hands' set at five minutes to ten.
The ruins are a scheduled ancient monument. An information panel gives information about the history of the site. The tower also doubles as the village war memorial, with two plaques beside the door.[3]
The church was referred to in 1388 as "Morbrichurche". Dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, it was a chapel-of-ease to nearby Llansteffan.
Recorded as still being an Anglican place of worship in 1671, the church was repaired and taken over in the 17th century as a non-conformist place of worship, described as "a remarkable change for the date".[4] The congregation was founded by Stephen Hughes circa 1670. The chapel is believed to be a unique example of being converted for non-conformist use.[3]
The congregation purchased the chapel in 1878, making changes including removal of the upper storey of the tower and the addition of a pyramid roof (the tower was originally battlemented and was recorded in the 1500s as having bells).
The chapel finally closed in 1962 and became Grade II listed in 1966. Following a fire in 1974, most of the building was demolished.