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Restoration Update | Restoration Fund info | Note from webmaster

16/8/2011
Last Sunday's Folk Service at Gellionnen was attended by over fifty people, including representatives from across the SEWUS district. Thank you to everyone who contributed their music and voices! Photos from the service have been made available on the SEWUS (South East Wales Unitarian society) website.

RESTORATION UPDATE April 2011

We have once more enjoyed the delight of a wood burning stove as this was installed in January. It is gorgeous - thanks to Ernie and Sara for firing up every Sunday since! They also removed a lot of unwanted items from the back room and we will soon be planning a working party to continue this, date to be circulated. Wayne tells us that the window carpenter is due to start work during week of 4th April. He will be removing the damaged windows, repairing them, then replacing them.

RESTORATION UPDATE October 2010

Wayne Francis is now based away from the Swansea area during the week so is unable to continue acting as our main project manager on the refurbishment of Gellionnen Chapel.

We are grateful to him for the huge amount of effort he has made over the past two years, putting the project on such a firm footing. Our thanks also to Clive, Gareth and Lewis for their continuing work. Gareth reports:

- the electric meters have now been moved in readiness for getting the new stove installed and we have paid the deposit to the supplier and await a start date from them. Prior to this happening we need to get the chimney swept

- the window refurbishment has been approved and we await a start date for the work

- Oaktree Construction plan to install a new land drain at the foot of the path where the water gathers, to connect to the existing drains installed earlier this year and avoid it running into chapel. Quotes have been invited from Oaktree and Mike Thomas for replacing all gutters, downpipes and bargeboards etc. This has to be done using the correct architectural style materials and not standard PVC domestic stuff, scaffolding will be necessary.

Also in hand are plans to restore the clock and look ahead to painting the building (phew....)

RESTORATION UPDATE 9th May 2010
Wayne Francis

We are hoping to appoint a contractor to repair/replace the chapel windows soon and to move the electricity junction box to allow us to install a new wood burning fire. The fencing has been replaced behind the chapel to stop the livestock getting into the chapel grounds.

RESTORATION UPDATE 8th November 2009
Jamie Nemeth

The congregation have been used to seeing the large plaque above the pulpit at Gellionnen smothered with blue paint (pictured left, Christmas Eve 2008), a constant reminder of the devastating vandalism that occured at the chapel last year.

Today, I realised that my mind had long replaced the area of blue with the memory of how the plaque used to look, almost like the blue-screen being replaced by an image in TV programmes or films. As a result, on arriving at the chapel today, it took a long time for my eyes to register that the blue paint was gone!

It's wonderful that the stone was restored in time for our Remembrance Sunday service. Many thanks to Rev. Eirion Phillips (pictured right), retired minister at the chapel, and a constant source of inspiration and support. Eirion has put on his other hat once again, this time applying his established stonemasonry skills to the restoration of all the plaques on the inside front wall. A few years ago, Eirion inscribed the copy of the Gellionnen Stone on the outside wall of the chapel, mentioned on the new History page, compiled by Marion Littlepage.

In the past few months, we have also seen restoration of our pulpit, and more recently, the toilet! The vandalism brought back memories of the 'Toilet Fund' that was active when I began attending the chapel, which seemed comical at the time, but provided us with an essential facility over the past few years, you may say 'the most comfortable seat in the house'. The needless destruction of this collaborative effort was another reminder of the events of last year, so it's fantastic to see it fully repaired.

Gellionnen Chapel Restoration Fund

Following the vandalism at Gellionnen last year, a fund was set up for the repair and restoration of our chapel. If you would like more information about making a donation to the fund, please phone 01792 830087 or email gellionnen@hotmail.com.

Note from the webmaster

For more information about the chapel and/or any special services, please email gellionnen@hotmail.com.