Black Mountain Chapel

    BLACK MOUNTAIN CHAPEL
Bettws y Crwyn,  SY7 8PJ
For more information 01547 510273 or 01588 640216

Apart from the final top coat of paint on the woodwork, the necessary renovation to the outside of Black Mountain Chapel, has now been completed. We are grateful for small grants from the AONB, Shropshire Council Historic Buildings Fund and the Local Joint Committee, to Mr Goodwin, our builder for his generosity with his time and all his careful work, and to all the volunteer helpers . In the summer the charity ‘Caring for Gods Acre’,  through their Sacred Spaces project, funded a specialist in lime-mortar walling, Keith Jones from Bishops Castle,  who led a team of local volunteers in rebuilding the collapsed section of the boundary wall.  Now that the building is sound, we have to think about undertaking modest repairs to the inside, renewing plaster, repairing wooden paneling and repainting walls, so the interior is ‘tidy’ once more. Then, this little building which is such a feature of the Bettws landscape, will be available again for community events such as the successful Songs of Praise held in 2010, the Sacred Spaces creative writing workshop and the Christmas Garland workshop held in magical candlelight as the snow began to fall one Sunday afternoon this December.

This year, the work on the Chapel has generated interest well beyond the Bettws. Greetings cards made by Sarah and Simon Jameson from their lovely drawings of the Chapel have been selling well at local fairs and we are grateful to them for donating the proceeds.  Also, Sarah’s photograph from the window of Black Mountain Chapel won first prize in the ‘Sacred Spaces’ photography competition last year and is now touring the AONB in the exhibition of entries. Radio Shropshire came to record at the Garland workshop and we made the national press when Black Mountain Chapel along with Bettws Church and Rhos Fiddle all featured in Paul Evans’ evocative piece for The Guardian’s ‘Country Diary’ in November! (ref guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/15/country-diary-wenlock-edge)

For more information please contact David or Frances Morris 01547 510237or Gill Binks 01588 640216