The Survey shows that 15% of churches in Wales offer bilingual worship and an additional 12% use Welsh as the primary language. Places of Worship in Wales are not only guardians of stone and stained glass but also of language and identity, where services embody a cultural treasure unique to the United Kingdom.
Going, going, gone. What’s at stake for the future of Welsh heritage
In Wales, when the official language of education and the workplace became English, it was the Welsh ‘capel’ (chapel) that allowed much of the Welsh population to still meet and live part of their lives in Welsh. It is the capel that has ensured the survival of the Welsh language to this day.
Chapels are a defining feature ofthe Welsh landscape. But for how much longer? As chapels are converted, sold, or demolished, much of Wales’s cultural memory is in danger of being forgotten.
