Gorphwysfa Calvinistic Methodist Church, Skewen
Roll of honour
Gorphwysfa was a Calvinistic Methodist chapel situated on St John's Terrace, Skewen. Beginning as an offshoot of Bethlehem Green Chapel in Neath, the congregation worshipped first in a chapel called Zion on Old Street, Skewen, before building Gorphwysfa in 1893-4. The chapel closed in 2022 and the records, including the roll of honour, were transferred to the Archive Service in 2023.
The roll of honour measures 52 x 83 cm and has been removed from its frame. The frame was badly damaged by woodworm and this has affected the edges and corners of the roll of honour too. The artist was Morgan Thomas of Swansea, who also drew the roll of honour of Henrietta Street Chapel, Swansea. His design concept is relatively simple, but tasteful and artistic, with a title, dedication and list of names within a border, embellished only with a union flag on a staff. The calligraphy is extremely fine and the border is decorated with mantling and floral ornamentation around the top and bottom. There is liberal use of gold in the ornamentation and in some of the capital letters. There are seventy names in total. These are divided into three columns and record the rank, name and regiment of each of the men. Four names are outlined to indicate that they died in conflict, and the date they fell is also included.