Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru.

(History of the Welsh Independent Churches)

By Thomas Rees & John Thomas; 4 volumes (published 1871+)

Extracted  by Gareth Hicks from the CD published by Archive CD Books (Jan 2008) - with translation

Gore

(Vol 2, p 540-1)

" Mae y lle hwn yn mhlwyf Old Radnor, ac yn agos i derfynau sir Henffordd. Yr ydym yn cael fod Ymneillduaeth wedi gosod ei thraed i lawr yma yn foreu iawn. Cafodd Mr. John Weaver ei droi allan o eglwys New Radnor gan Ddeddf Unffurfiaeth yn 1662. Mae yn ddigon tebygol mai ffrwyth ei lafur ef yw yr achos yn Gore. Darfu iddo ffurfio eglwys yma yn fuan wedi cael ei fwrw allan o'r Eglwys blwyfol, ond ni bu yn hir cyn symud i Henffordd, lle y treuliodd ei oes yn weinidog Ymneillduol. Bu fares yn bedwar ugain oed yn 1712. Merch iddo ef oedd gwraig yr enwog a'r dysgedig Samuel Jones, athraw yr athrofa yn Tewkesbury. Yn 1672, yr ydym yn cael Maurice a Richard Griffiths yn cyfodi trwyddedau bregethu yn Bigeldy, yn yr ardal hon. Trwyddedodd Owen Morgan, o Bigeldy, ei dy hefyd yr un amser at bregethu ynddo. Nid oes genym un wybodaeth am Richard Griffiths, ond y mae enw Maurice Griffiths i'w ganfod yn fynych mewn hen lyfrau a gyhoeddwyd yn amser y werin-lywodraeth. Yr oedd yn gyfaill neillduol i Vavasor Powell, a chan fod ei enw yn cael ei grybwyll mor fynych, yr ydym yn casglu ei fod yn ddyn o gryn bwys a dylanwad. Yr oedd yn fyw yn 1675. Nid ydym yn hysbys hanes yn mhellach. Mae hanes yr achos yn Gore o 1672 hyd 1720, pryd yr adeiladwyd y capel cyntaf yno, yn hollol anhysbys i ni, ac o'r pryd hwnw yn mlaen hyd 1742, nid ydym yn gwybod dim o'i helynt. Yn y flwyddyn 1742, yr oedd yma un James Beaumont yn pregethu. Mae yn ymddangos ei fod yn ddyn gwresog a phoblogaidd. Bu am rai blynyddau yn cydweithredu a'r Methodistiaid Calfinaidd. Dywedir mae cael ei daro a chareg gan erlidiwr pan yr oedd yn pregethu yn yr awyr agored fu yr achos o'i farwolaeth. Nis gwyddom pa bryd na pha le y cymerodd hyn le. Mae Mr. William Jones, gweinidog presenol Gore, yn un o hiliogaeth Beaumont. Wedi marwolaeth Mr. Beaumont bu un o'r enw Williams yma am rai blynyddau, ond nid oes genym ddim o'i hanes. Yr oedd yr achos yma wedi dadfeilio ac ar farw pan y daeth y diweddar Mr. Thomas Rees i Huntington yn 1802. Yr oedd y capel yn ddadfeiliedig, y ffenestri yn dyllog, a'r les wedi rhedeg allan. Trwy ymdrech Mr. Rees, cafwyd les newydd, ac adgyweiriwyd y capel. Casglwyd yma gynnulleidfa dda yn mhen ychydig amser, a pharhaodd Mr. Rees i lafurio yma hyd y flwyddyn 1849, pryd y gorfodwyd ef gan henaint a methiant i roddi y lle i fyny. Yr oedd yr achos wedi dechreu gwywo yma rai blynyddau cyn hyn, o herwydd fod y gweinidog yn byw rai milldiroedd o'r ardal yn analluog o herwydd henaint i fod o fawr gwasanaeth fel gweinidog. Yn fuan wedi i Mr. Rees roddi y gofal i fyny, rhoddwyd galwad i Mr. W. Jones, y gweinidog presenol, ac urddwyd ef yma yn niwedd 1819. Aelod o eglwys Mr. Rees yn Huntington oedd Mr. Jones. Pedwar-ar-ddeg oedd rhif yr aelodau yn Gore pan ddechreuodd ef ei weinidogaeth yma, and y maent er's rhai blynyddau bellach tua chant o rif. Mae Mr. Jones yn ddiweddar wedi cymeryd ystafell gyfleus at bregethu yn Kington, a bwriada ddechreu achos yno."

Translation by Maureen Saycell (Feb 2008)

 "This place is in the parish of Old Radnor, and near the border of Herefordshire. We understand that the Independents had a foothold here very early on. Mr John Weaver was thrown out of New Radnor church in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity. It is likely that the cause at Gore was the fruit of his labours. He formed this church soon after he was cast out of the Parish Church, but it was not long before he moved to Hereford, where he spent his life as an Independent minister He died aged eighty years in 1712. His daughter was the wife of the well known and educated Samuel Jones, a teacher at Tewkesbury College. In1672 we have Maurice and Richard Griffiths gaining licences to preach at Bugeildy, in this area. At one time Owen Morgan, of Bugeildy, had his house licensed for preaching within. We have no history of Richard Griffiths, but Maurice Griffiths is mentioned in many books published in the time of the parliamentarians. He was a close friend of Vavasor Powell, and as his name has been mentioned so frequently, we assume he was a man of note and influence. He was alive in 1675. We are not aware of any further history. The history of Gore from 1672 and 1720, when the first chapel was built, is completely unknown to us, and from this time to 1742 we have no knowledge of it's state. In 1742, there was a James Beaumont preaching here. He appears to have been a warm and popular man. He cooperated with the Calvinistic Methodists for some years. It is said that his death was caused by his being struck on the head by a stone, thrown at him while he was preaching in the open air, by a persecutor, but we do not know where or when this took place. Mr William Jones, the current minister of Gore is a descendant of Beaumont. After the death of Beaumont, one by the name of Williams was here for some years, but we have none of his history. The cause here had disintegrated and on the verge of death when the late Mr Thomas Rees came to Huntington in 1802. The chapel was in ruins, the windows broken and the lease had run out. Through the efforts of Mr Rees, a new lease was secured, and the chapel was repaired. A good congregation was gathered in a short time, and Mr Rees continued to labour here until 1849 when he was forced to retire by the failings of old age. The cause had been stumbling for some time before that as the minister lived some miles outside the area, and was unable to do the duties of a minister because of old age. Soon after Mr Rees gave up his ministry, a call was sent to Mr W. Jones, the present minister, and he was ordained here towards the end of 1819. Mr Jones was a member of Mr Rees' church in Huntington. There were only fourteen members in Gore when his ministry began, but they have numbered around one hundred for some years now. Mr Jones has acquired a room in Kington to preach in, and he intends to start a cause there,"