Hanbury Road English Baptist Chapel was built in 1906, designed by architects James & Morgan of Cardiff, and built by R.T. Burns of Bargoed, to hold 1000 people at a cost of £3000. The founders had begun worshipping together through the leadership of John Llewellen of the Rhymney Railway Company in halls across the street and the first baptisms took place near the Bargoed viaduct in 1896. Plans had been drawn up in that year by D. Morgan but only the schoolrooms were built by 1899.

This is a gable-fronted chapel on a sloping site with basement schoolrooms. It is built in an Edwardian Baroque style in red brick with extensive grey Forest of Dean ashlar dressings and slate roofs with overhanging eaves. The 2-storey facade has flanking twin projecting stair turrets, rising from square to semi-octagonal, topped with pinnacled hipped roofs and tall lead finials. The main front rises higher with a coped gable, ashlar corner piers with ball finials, finials at mid height in the gable above the main pilasters and gable with 2 flush ashlar bands, a plaque between, and ornate vase finial. The central bay is flanked by pilasters and has a cornice inscribed 'Hanbury Road Baptist Chapel'. A large 3-light arched window beneath it has deep-chamfered jambs, moulded imposts, moulded arch with keystone and moulded deep sill. It also has leaded glazing, the outer lights being camber-headed, the broader centre light with slightly ogee head. Moulded timber course above continuing impost course and big fanlight with square-paned glazing.

The ground floor centre has a fine ashlar arched central entrance, with panelled doors and deep fanlight, flanked by 2 small arched windows. These are flanked in turn by pilasters. There is a frieze over the door and windows, with half-circle arcading over the windows and fluting over the door. There is a steep central pediment furnished with an ornate cartouche and vase finial. There is a moulded cornice below the windows and ashlar masonry below with recessed inscribed panels.

The turrets have a small window on the inner faces and fine panelled front doors in ashlar frames with consoled cornices and small pediments. The shaped parapet above has a half-round dip at the outer corners, and corner ball finials. The half-octagonal upper storeys have three small 12-pane windows in ashlar surrounds.

The front railings have tapering ashlar piers with cornices and steep pyramid caps. There is scrolled cresting to the iron railings.

The rendered 6-window side walls are 2-storey, dropping to 4 towards rear, and have flat-headed windows.

There is an impressive, ornate and colourful interior of 1906. The interior is furnished with a deep, 3-sided gallery with curved corners, carried on painted columns with foliate capitals cast by Macfarlane & Co of Glasgow. the front of the gallery is a continuous bowed iron, double curved in profile with very ornate peirced ironwork comprising of a pattern of pointed arches infilled with complex anthemion derived leaf-scrolls. A second range of columns from gallery supports the roof trusses. These are thin and complex mock-hammerbeam type trusses, including arched-braces with open roundels in spandrels.

There are pitch pine pews, canted in on side ranks towards the pulpit, which is Impressively tiered and elevated, with an open-back great seat. There is a panelled platform front with low balustrades, each side of the projecting panelled pulpit. Behind is a timber choir gallery with panelling under open panels with dwarf balustrades. This gallery steps back to very large organ in a deep arched recess, the organ being panelled below a 5-bay pipe-front.

There are arched entries into the rear rooms at ground and gallery level to each side of the pulpit. To the lower left door is a stained glass window made by G. Maile of Canterbury. Another, unsigned, dates to after 1937, and shows the Baptism of Christ. There are ventilators in the side walls made by Baker of Newport.

There is extensive accommodation to the rear of the building on 3 levels; a vestry behind the pulpit, a schoolroom below and cellars below again. The schoolroom has fine glazed folding doors, a coved ceiling and adjoining ancillary rooms.

RCAHMW 21st November 2006