The Libanus Chapel, in Swansea, was built in 1906 during the Christian non-conformist revival led by Evan Roberts in south Wales in the early part of the last century.  Whilst the revival was fairly short-lived, the chapel stayed in business for nearly a hundred years before a dwindling congregation led to it closing its doors in 2000.

The Grade II listed building stood for a further 12 years, closed and locked; declining gently behind solid stone walls.

In January 2012, the interior of the chapel was destroyed by a fire in the night.  Arson. Or maybe just homeless people trying to keep warm.   And when the fire had done its work, the city council immediately demolished the upper part of the outer structure  – apparently for safety reasons, but reportedly without making an assessment of whether it could be saved.

So now, all that is left is a low-rise shell….

…and a pile of rubble…

…behind a fence and locked gates…

A few architectural details remain, hinting at the building’s previous ambition…

The inscription in Welsh in the porch above the main door reads “Built with respect during the ministry of Pastor Evans”.  I think.

Postscript, May 2021: Google maps tells me that the chapel has now been fully demolished. The Iron fence is still there but the site it encloses is now just a patch of scrub.