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A 150-year-old chapel that closed last year has been given new life after being taken over by a charity. 

Helping Hands Cancer Self-Help Group has taken over Beulah Chapel in Rhymney after it closed its doors in March 2023. 

The chapel opened in 1866 and even featured in The Cardiff Times back in the nineteenth century. 

Now, the chapel will be home to Helping Hand’s medical aids such as wheelchairs and commodes.

Helping Hands was founded in 1994 and is dedicated to easing the burdens of seriously ill individuals and their caregivers in Rhymney, Pontlottyn, Abertysswg, Deri, and Fochriw.

The charity, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, also provides help with forms, assessments and transportation to appointments. 

Retail manager Paul Thomas told Caerphilly Observer in December 2023 that the chapel was in the process of being cleared out.

He added that once this is completed the space will be “ready to go”. 

The charity needed a new place to keep its medical aids after the Whitbread Centre, where it previously stored the items, was bought by Linc Cymru and marked out for redevelopment. 

As well as being a storage space, there are also prospective plans to rent part of the building out for events and community groups.