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Counting seats

 

The purpose of this review is to compare the seating accommodation as reported in the Nonconformist statistics with the contempory informaton available. That information consists of 'measurements' undertaken by witnesses or on their direct behalf (independent of the compiled statistics) and the official - in the ordinary course of business - statistics i. e. the Year Books or their equivalent.

 

From the outset, such a comparison can create its own problems inasmuch that these 'measurements' would most likely have been done some time later than the reports to which they are being compared to i.e. at 31st December, 1905 for no other reason that such information was required before June, 1906 when the Commission was established. With that in mind you can expect to find some variations in the figures.

 

While I am no student of physcology, I can well understand the temptation of some chapel secretaries when sending information to the Year Books to reflect the changes that were in the course of happening purely for the reason that by the time the Year Books were published those changes would have been effected. Equally, those same chapel secretaries could well have misread the instructions in compiling the later statistics and were quoting figures that had occured in 1906.

 

I have also eluded to chapels that I considered missing from the schedules. I have previously mentioned the Unitarians and the Salvation Army. For the former, I can only imagine that the clear lack of co-operation with the other denominations, which is discussed in the evidence and subsequent reports, did not encourage the persuit of statistics. For the latter, there is no obvious explanation. However, other districts did include both of them. Other ommissions are mostly in the split of Trehafod and the relevant chapels are included in the published statistics for the Urban District of Pontypridd although, according to my maps, Penuel was on the Rhondda side of the border. Then there is the mystery of Bethabara, Williamstown which appears nowhere despite having been built in 1890. Equally odd that it also does not appear in the contempory Baptist Handbook. Another chapel, Zion, Ferndale, while appearing in the Baptist Handbook is also missing from the statistics.

 

One can not dismisss the possibility that the instructions to these secretaries were confusing and they were invited to include information that should have been disclosed separately. Or, by the same token, the returned figures were not sufficiently verified which would have been impossible if the basis of measurement was not identical. And they could not be verified if it was the case, as it seems to be in some situations, that the Year Books themselves were inaccurate or simply not up-to-date.

 

The table as set out below highlights the inconsistencies between the various information sources and also quotes from subsequent 'official' sources to see if any of these inconsistencies were subsequently corrected.

 

  Official Data Pre 1905 Statistics 1905 Official Data 1905 Witness Data 1907/08 Official Data Post 1905 Comment
Welsh Wesleyan:
Calfaria, Treorchy 425 450 450   425 A typical conflict. You can judge for yourself which one is right (if any)
Horeb, Ystrad 375 350 350   375  
Tabernacle, Clydach Vale 250 300 300 237 250 3 'measures' and three different figures ?
Seilo, Tonypandy 410 400 400   410  
Welsh Baptist:
Salem, Porth 950 900 950   900  
Zoar, Treherbert 550 450 550   550  
Soar, Penygraig 900 870 900   850  
Beulah, Tyntyla - 350 -   300  
Noddfa, Treorchy 1500 1450 1500 1234 1500 I am surprised that Dr. Morris's figures never reached the Handbook.
Horeb, Tylorstown 700 800 800   650  
Salem Newydd, Ferndale 800 660 800   650  
Zion, Maerdy 650 600 650   650  
Calvaria, Clydach Vale 750 700 750   750  
Pisgah, Cymmer 400 310 400   300  
Libanus, Treherbert 800 550 800   650  
Ainon, Ynyshir 800 750 800   800  
Moriah, Tonypandy 250 700 250   750 My gut feeling is that the 700 is quite accurate.
Nazareth, Blaenllechau 700 1325 700   700 Totally wrong. The 1325 seems to include the old chapel (Hall)
Siloam, Gelli 700 750 700   700  
Zion, Ferndale 170 - 170   -  
Welsh Congregational:
Ramah, Treorchy 600 1000 1000   700 A classic case of Year Book mis-addition (300+300+400). The 700 seems to be the right figure.
Capel Porth 750 550 750   550  
Carmel, Wattstown 150 200 300   400  
Siloh, Pentre 1000 1140 1000   960  
Cymmer 850 1550 850   1050 The only plausable explanation is that the 1550 is the 850 chapel+200 the the mission+the old chapel.
Saron, Ynyshir 800 705 800   650  
Siloa, Maerdy 850 800 850   720  
Carmel, Treherbert 690 900 1050   678  
Bethania, Treorchy 1260 1200 1360   1200  
Ebenezer, Tynewydd 650 630 650   630  
Welsh Calvinistic, Methodist:
Bethania, Tonypandy ? 500 ? 550 500 If Mr. Griffiths is right then why did his figure not reach the Year Book?
Libanus, Tylorstown ? 550 ?   500  
English Baptist:
Beulah, Tylorstown 300 260 300   300  
Zion, Pentre 500 500 750   750  
Bethel, Ferndale 450 550 450   450  
Hope, Gelli 450 980 450   700 I think a 1906 figure was used AND it included the schoolroom.
Tabernacle, Porth 650 1200 650   1150 Maybe the Handbook was not up to date.
English Calvinistic Methodist:
Bethany, Ton-Pentre ? 500 ?   450  
Bute Sq., Treherbert ? 300 ?   280  
Fwd Movement, Pontygwaith ? 450 ?   320  
English Congregational:
Llwynypia 400 400 450 400 450  
Ystrad, Ton-Pentre 460 430 460   420  
English Primitive Methodist:
Llwynypia ? 400 400 354 ?  
Wain Court ? 250 220 250 ?  
English Wesleyan:
Blaenrhondda 200 230 200   200  
Treherbert 300 425 550   400 The 550 makes no sense whatsoever.
Treorchy (Tabernacle) 484 500 484   484  
Pentre 445 450 445   445  
Llwynypia - 250 300 266 280 The 266 may well be the accurate figure.
Tonypandy 310 400 310   370  
Blaenclydach 270 250 270 289 270  
Porth 200 220 200   200  
Ynyshir 130 120 130   100  
Ferndale 350 362 350   350