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The mystery of whether an old chapel or church had been uncovered during demolition of Caerphilly’s old indoor market has been solved.
A wall with ‘pointed windows’ was found during work to clear the site on Pentrebane Street to and online speculation quickly turned to the potential of an old church or chapel once being there.
According to experts it was neither after Lindsay Whittle, Plaid Cymru MS for Caerphilly, asked Welsh ancient monuments body Cadw to inspect the site.
He said: “Although it was neither a church nor a chapel, I can confirm the site did once contain a dance hall.
“I’m pleased that the research carried out has put an end to all of the speculation.I was quite excited at the prospect of an important discovery, but alas not to be.
“I repeat my previous plea to designers to build an exciting development on this site – not simply a block of flats. This will be an important site in the town for the next 100 years.”
Demolition work on the old indoor market on Pentrebane Street began earlier this year as part of the Caerphilly Town 2035 masterplan.
Once completed, the new Pentrebane Street complex will be made up of three new buildings around a ‘central public space’.
It will include 72 apartments, offered as a mix of social rent, market rent and sale, as well as seven new commercial units.
The £21m redevelopment is funded by Caerphilly County Borough Council and the Welsh Government’s transforming towns programme.
The complex will be managed by Linc Cymru.
Culture Minister Jack Sargeant told Mr Whittle: “The demolition of a building in advance of redevelopment at Pentrebane Street, Caerphilly, revealed the wall of an upstanding building with pointed windows which some have questioned might be a chapel.
“Heneb: The Trust for Welsh Archaeology is the archaeological advisor for this scheme and has been involved in this project. They confirmed to Cadw that they are aware of the building, have investigated and are content that there is currently no evidence to indicate the building ever served this purpose.
“My officials in Cadw have confirmed that Heneb will continue to monitor activities at the site and will inform Cadw if any substantive remains of potential archaeological or historic interest are identified as the demolition work progresses.”
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