While a Calvinistic Methodist cause met in various private houses in the town during the early 19th century, the first Beersheba Methodist Chapel was built in 1838 on land leased from the Marquis of Anglesey. The chapel was rebuilt with the current structure in 1856, with the addition of a new pulpit and Sedd Fawr in 1871 - both the gift of Richard Davies, Treborth. A chapel house was added in 1860 and the chapel re-roofed in 1871. In 1881 the 'Ysgoldy' or Sunday School was built on the opposite side of New Street at a cost of £802. In 1904 Beersheba was renovated with the addition of a rear extention for the organ, heating, and new pews at a total cost of £2,500. Electricity was installed three years later. Capel Mawr is a large rectangular chapel built of yellow brick in the Classical style, as part of a sizable complex of chapel house, Sunday school and hall.
The fine west facing façade is vertically emphasised, with three full-height windows interspred with two doorways. The windows each have segmentally-arched pediments and stressed cement architraves. Square corbels support the sills. The two doorways have identical pediments topping advanced, segmentally-headed architraves. The wooden panelled doors are set below lights with floral decoration. Above is a triangular pediment set with a central, round, ventilation grill with decorative tracery. The plain cornice, mouldings, and quoins are of stressed cement. The cornice return to the side elevations ends in a lions-head boss to either side.
The side elevations are similar, each side with five further windows of equal height but with simple arched architraves.
The rear elevation is dominated by a later extended bay, designed to house the inserted organ and a vestry. This canted, two-storey, structure is of ashlar inscribed cement render to the ground floor and brick to the first floor, topped at pediment level with a balustrade parapet. The quoins are shaped as Tuscan pillars from stressed cement. Within centre of east wall is rectangular plaque with triangular pediment and inscription "ADDOLDY/METHODD. CALFINAIDD/ADEILADWYD. 1838/AIL ADEILADWYD. 1856/ADNEWYDDWYD. 1904". The ground floor is lit by a series of narrow sash windows , with two identical to the canted bays of the first floor. A door on either side elevation leads into the vestry. The original rear elevation can be seen to mirror the façade, with identical pediment, and windows identical to those on the side elevations.
Entry via the façade doorways leads to a vestibule with decorative tiled floor and panelled floral frieze. Staircase to either side lead to the gallery level. There are memorial to those in both the first and second World Wars, as well as a plaque to Robert Morris Williams, 1920.
The auditorium has a fine complex of sedd fawr, pulpit and organ at the western end. The Sedd Fawr is comprised of a raised platform bound by timber railings formed of open round arches on square Tuscan-style pillars, and circles in the spandrels, with cone finials on the posts. To the front is a small reading desk. Behind this, the central pulpit is accessed via winged curving stairs to either side, with pine finials and chamfered newel posts. The square-fronted pulpit is decorated with inset panels sporting Corinthian panels and rounded arches, and with a projecting cornice around the top.
Either side of the pulpit is decorative timber panelling, with further arcaded panelling behind supporting the organ seating. This large pipe organ, made by Blackett and Howden, sits within a large arched recess with plaster mouldings.
To the first floor is a canted gallery to three sides, supported on tapering cast iron fluted composite pillars and with a highly decorative, carved timber, panelled front. The gallery clock is signed "S Williams, Bangor". The gallery is set with pews set in raked blocks.
The walls are generally of painted plaster with wood dado, with floral plaster frieze around the top of dado (missing from north wall). There are two brass plaques on the south wall: one to Jane Helen Rowlands 1891-1955, the other to Parchedig John Llewelyn Hughes 1894-1956. On the north wall is a brass plaque to Robert Charles Jones 1846-1925, and a plaque on rear of the pulpit bench is to Y Parch Thomas Charles Williams.
Floor of parquet blocks.
Immediately adjacent to chapel is small chapel house, recently modernised, with boiler room and outside toilet.
On the opposite side of the road is a school house (at time of inspection out of use and considered too dangerous to allow entry because of dry rot). This is a large building with side extension of snecked rubble with brick quoins and architraves, round arched windows on gable front, segmental arched windows along sides and extension.
There was formerly a Ministers' house at the rear of the school, but this is now altered and modernised and no longer belongs to the chapel.
RCAHMW visit 1994