RELIGION – Glascoed People & Places

What do we know about Glascoed in the nineteenth century? We’ve got evidence from a range of written records, newspaper stories, some oral history, gravestones, trade directories and photographs. Chapel and Church records contain much useful and often fascinating information of interest to family and local historians.

Mount Zion Baptist Chapel (LINK TO Mount Zion Baptist Chapel page).

Chapel attendance was quite high with membership numbers appearing to fluctuate between 50 and 100 in this period. For some special events, e.g. the 1892 “Tea party” attendances of 300 could be found.

The chapel, Mount Zion Baptist chapel, was built in 1820, although Baptists had been meeting in the Glascoed area for several generations prior to this.

St. Michael’s Church

St. Michael’s Church, Glascoed was established by Usk Parish Church in 1849, on land that had been generously donated by John Morgan of Hill Farm. The “Chapel of Ease” dedicated to St. Michael was built from local limestone around 1861, with the churchyard opened in 1862.

OTHER CHURCHES

Glascoed people were also baptised, married and were buried in a wide range of other churches and chapels in the surrounding area. I explain why this was and the Churches and Chapels that were involved in the “Other Churches” section.

LINKS TO CHURCH RECORDS AND RESOURCES

Records of Glascoed people from churches in Glascoed and also the wider area, can be found in the Records section of this site, in the “Birth”, “Marriage” and “Death” sections and the “Church records” section.

I highly commend Glyn Williams’ excellent book, “THE HISTORY OF GLASCOED CHAPEL from its origins to 1970.” This not only provides us with a history of the chapel, but a social history of the village, based on written evidence and much rich oral history. Glyn generously allowed me to reproduce his book on this website; and you can find both it and the abbreviated chapel history, within this section of the site (Visit the “Mount Zion Baptist” section of “Village History”).

The Mount Zion Minute books are a mixture of records of baptisms and memberships, of the faith journey of its members along with accounts of events and occasional juicy pieces of information. There are also lists of members and donors to the church. Worth exploring in detail. They along with Birth, Marriage and Burial records can be found in the “Church records” section of this site.

As I find more general records of Glascoed people in other church or chapel records, (e.g. from membership lists) I will add them to the site.