Pentre Llifior Chapel, Berriew

Pentre Llifior Chapel, near Berriew

This roadside chapel dates from 1798 and is Wales’ second oldest Wesleyan Methodist chapel. It was the first of many Wesleyan chapels to be built in Mid and North Wales.

The land for the chapel was bought by James Buckley, whose face is familiar to many Welsh people as that adorning bottles of “The Rev James” ale. James Buckley’s father had been brewing beer in Llanelli since 1767.

James was a travelling preacher. He was helped in founding this chapel by James Gill, who in 1811 was appointed the Methodists’ missionary in Gibraltar.

Methodists in the area held their first meetings at a local farm. They were inspired by the religious reformer John Wesley, who visited the area in 1769. He was passionate about making Christian worship available and attractive to ordinary working people. Pentre Llifior Chapel reflects his attitude in its simple brick construction. The windows, as we see them today, probably date from the century after its construction.

On the opposite side of the road from the chapel is a former stable. Parts of it date from 1805, when the facility was built in preparation for a visit by an important Methodist figure. It’s thought that the visitor was either Owen Davies, who led the Wesleyan mission to North Wales, or Dr Thomas Coke, a bishop and friend of John Wesley. Dr Coke is known as the Father of the Methodist Missions, having helped to establish missions in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, west Africa and France.

The chapel was restored in 2012, when the stables area opened as a Methodist heritage centre. Services are held in the chapel each Sunday and the building is open to the public at certain times, or by appointment. Please follow the link below for details.

Postcode: SY21 8QJ    View Location Map

Chapel website