NO, this isn’t an historic photograph of an old-time Welsh princess and her Victorian suitor...
The pair above are Caroline Owen and Paul Jones, pictured at the recent open day at Sutton Oak Welsh Chapel, part of a heritage weekend that saw historic buildings in the town opening their doors to the public.
The couple strived to keep the old chapel alive after it had become neglected, closed and shuttered-up.
Paul, founder-chairman of that special piece of chapel history, said: “We are showing that the old Welsh dragon is still alive and has its claws locked into old Sutton. The open day was fabulous!”
The Sutton chapel, which sprang from the ‘invasion’ of Welsh families to Sutton Oak during the copper boom of 1778, shut down in recent years when the congregation fell away.
But a record high of visitors attended the fully-renovated building for the heritage weekend, says Paul, who also enjoyed a ride on one of the St Helens transport museum’s veteran buses. Flag-waving a massive Welsh-dragon banner, he thoroughly enjoyed his historical journey.
He’s proud, along with Caroline, of helping to rescue the chapel from near destruction. And he now urges all others with heritage buildings and historic structures to also jump on that heritage wagon to bygone times.
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