Welsh Journals

communities, such as Keith Thomas attempts in his study of one chapel in Ebbw Vale from its inception in 1861 to its closure in 1983. A Methodist society established a small chapel in 1808, moved into a larger one in 1825 and moved again into a yet bigger chapel in 1861. The author describes the building and opening of the last of these in some detail. The minutae of chapel life are also described-for example the 'pew stewards' who kept the pews vacant for those who had paid their 'pew rent'; the various duties of the chapel cleaners; and the purchasing of the organ in 1894 (and in 1895 the complaints by the choir about the organist who resigned forthwith). The links with the wider community are also touched upon-for example, the role of the Poor Stewards, confidentially giving alms to the poor and unemployed in the 1920s; and the arrangements made for fire watching during the second World War and for the welcoming home celebrations in 1945. The post-war years have been difficult ones for Methodism generally and James Street has been no exception. Its financial insecurity culminated in its demolition in 1985. In the final section Keith Thomas describes 4 of the 66 ministers who have preached Methodism in Ebbw Vale since 1825. The sisterhood is also discussed, together with the activities of the Sunday School. This reader would have liked to have read more on the part the chapel played in Ebbw Vale's steel-making community. Nevertheless it is important that when as historians we talk about movements such as 'Methodism' what we are actually talking about is people: people who build chapels, complain about the organist and grow anxious about the finances. Accounts such as this one are interesting not only in their own right but also as contributions of empirical detail on which broader historical analyses need to be based. P.B. RECENT PUBLICATIONS Bold, Wyndham E. "Methodism and its beginnings in Monmouth" 1987 £ 1.50 Gunter, G. W. and Viner, G. A. "Gunter in Wales and Sussex" Reprinted form the Journal of the West Sussex Archives Vols. 32 & 33 Sept. 1985 and Jan. 1986 Cwmrydderch School extracts from log book 1876-1893" (photocopy) 5p Miller, Jill "You can't kill the Spirit: Women in a Welsh Mining Valley" London, Women's Press 1986 £ 3.95 Deane, S. G. "The Living Village: The Story of some of those who lived in Caerleon during the Twentieth Century" Cwmbran Village Publishing 1985 £ 2.95 Baker, Alber (compiler) "1896­1946 fifty Years of Sport: The Achievements of the Athletes of Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire"