Salem Welsh Baptist Chapel - Barry Dock (1905)



The revival movement is taking an increasing hold on the people of Barry. Services are held nightly in diffferent places of worship in the town, and a gratifying feature of the gathering is the fact that denominationalism seems to be entirely lost sight of in the greater and more important purpose of the spiritualisation of the masses. Up to the present the number of conversions as the result of the movement exceeds 600, and this bountiful harvest of precious souls is shared by most of the churches of all denominations in the town. The revival has been equally felt by the local organisations of the Salvation Army. From, 'The Barry Dock News', 6th January 1905. Reliable information from experienced Christian business men, well known in the metropolis, shows that the influence of the Welsh revival has been by no means overstated. Evidently, the principality is stirred from end to end. Especially notable, perhaps, is the work at Barry, where the revival has so far been carried on almost exclusively in connection with the Welsh churches, but its effect has been far-reaching. There is not a place of worship in the town — church and non-conformist alike — where the influence of the movement has not been felt. Special services have been held daily at different chapels at Barry, Barry Dock, and Cadoxton during the past week, and morning, noon, and night the congregations have been very large. At the morning and afternoon meetings every day may be seen scores of instances of men who come home from work in the morning, attend the services during the day, and return to work again at night after but little rest. There has also been a considerable falling off in the attendance at the Technical School on the part of the young people, many of the boys and girls preferring to be present and take part in the revival services. Already there have been over 300 public testimonies of conversion, and each gathering adds to this number. People walking up and down the streets resort almost unconsciously to hymn-singing. Men and women who have lived openly lives of sin and indifference have come to the meetings — some, perhaps, from motives of curiosity, others to scoff and jeer — but have remained to pray, and, bathed in tears of sorrow and repentance, they have publicly declared their intention to forsake sin.

From, 'The Great Revival in Wales', by S B Shaw, page 64.

Additional Information

This is likely to have been one of the churches involved.


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