Seion Chapel
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
Seion Chapel was opened in 1878, the designer was Richard Owen of Wall, Liverpool and is fairly typical of nonconformist chapels of that period.
Isaac Williams, born at Cwmcynfelin, the nearby estate, became involved with the controversial Oxford or Tractarian Movement in the 1830s and 40s. This movement set out to restore to the Anglican church some of the practices of Catholicism and this influenced the way they worshipped and aspects of church architecture. Many new churches were built in places where local gentry were persuaded to follow the new Oxford ideas.
All Saints was built from local stone, probably quarried nearby. The church was designed by the important architect, Henry Jones Underwood, and later had a tower and porch added to a design by William Butterfield, the main architect of the Oxford Movement. It has colourful stained glass, a lectern believed to be carved from a single piece of walnut and a set of candelabra said to be presented by Cardinal Henry Newman, a leader of the Tractarian Movement
