07/09/2026
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETHANY.
The first English Baptist Church in Cardiff and Cardiff’s first Sunday School.
Over 220 years of faith and fellowship – and the story continues!
On 7 September 1806, Bethany Baptist Church was born when Edmund Ward, Thomas Hopkins and Keziah Viner were baptised in the River Taff near the old Cardiff Bridge.
That evening they met together with three from Caerphilly - George Brown, Thomas Lewis, and Sarah Lewis - and formed Bethany Church, in a rented room at the King’s Head Hotel in St Mary Street.
After just four months, the small congregation were asked to leave the hotel due to their enthustastic worship!. They purchased stables with a loft and large garden in St Mary Street and the building opened for worship in 1807.
In 1809 Thomas Lewis, a tallow chandler from Caerphilly,and one of the founders, was called to be the first minister of Bethany. Still living and carrying on his business in Caerphilly, he travelled over mountain in all weathers to preach, riding on horseback with his wife on the pillion behind and a baby in front.
As the church grew, the building was rebuilt and enlarged. In 1865, Bethany moved into a magnificent new chapel in St Mary Street,with seating around 950 people.
By the 1950s, however, the church was surrounded by Howell’s department store and the congregation was declining. It was eventually sold, and the money helped fund the building of a new BethanyBaptist Church in Rhiwbina in 1964.
From three baptised believers beside the River Taff in 1806 to the Bethany we know today, our story is one of faith, change and God's continuing work.
