Name of Witness - Bangor Wedding

[Rowan Tree]

A big thanks to Hazel and Gadget.

Hazel, about to take a look at the other thread.

Cheers, Rowan 

[sarah90]

I know this is an old thread & you may not be interested anymore but I'm pretty sure the Bangor chapel will be the old Catholic church that is now currently the weatherspoons, it was one of the few catholic churches that was allowed to remain so during the reformations or so I've heard due to it's proximity to Ireland.

[Rowan Tree]

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for your post. I'm still interested in this thread 

What you've added about the old Catholic Church makes sense as my ancestors who married there were Irish born and had not long been in Wales (as far as I can tell). I'm going to have a Google to see if I can find any images of the Weatherspoon.

Many thanks for your help. Best Wishes, Rowan Tree 

[Hazel17]

I think the Weatherspoon's in Bangor is now called the Black Bull Inn.  I have to say it doesn't strike me as one that used to be a chapel/church from the  outside but inside there is a sort of gallery at the top above the bar that you can't actually get to so it could have been a chapel now I think about it but it has been some years since I have been in!

[Rowan Tree]

Howdy Hazel,

I had a Google and came up with the following two images...

One image shows a map I found on Weatherspoons web-page for the Black Bull and the other is an image of the Black Bull Inn itself. I think it does look rather like an old chapel (the part of the building on the right certainly does anyway).

I'm going to see if I can dig anything else up on the building.

Best Wishes, Rowan Tree 

[Hazel17]

It does look like a chapel you are right. I generally used to go in the doorway in the middle but the black double doors are very chapel-like! Inside there are scenes and photos on the walls relating to local history in there, there could well be one showing the building in its original fom.

[Rowan Tree]

...Inside there are scenes and photos on the walls relating to local history... There could well be one showing the building in its original form...

Now that sounds interesting...

I've been doing some more Google'ing and found another photo of the pub (similar to the one I posted earlier). The latest photo I found has the following caption attached, "The former Our Lady's Church and Presbytery now known as the Black Bull Inn".

Hazel, can I ask what you make of that? Does that sound like it could have been a R.C. Chapel (I'm sorry, I'm pretty ignorant in this area).

Best Wishes, Rowan 

[Hazel17]

Well 'Our Lady' is a Roman Catholic phrase but I am not up on that sort of thing. I went to university in Bangor and visited the pub on more than  a few nights out hence how I know it.
 I looked on the genuki page for Bangor but found no reference to Catholic churches in the area. Here is the link though.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CAE/Bangor/index.html#ChurchRecords

[Rowan Tree]

Thanks Hazel - I'll take a peek. Rowan