tenuous than first appearances suggested. In 1859 there was another popular revival, which began in north Cardiganshire and eventually affected most of Wales. It was primarily, however, a Welsh language phenomenon, and its influence was, in the main, a transient one. Nevertheless, by the 1880s, Nonconformity was approaching its golden age. Chapel buildings were increasingly grandiose, in contrast to the austerity of the earlier meeting houses of the revivalist period. Professional architects were engaged to design elaborate structures, especially in larger towns such as Aberystwyth, Caernarfon, Carmarthen and Swansea, as well as in the developing townships of the industrial valleys. Nonconformist denominations in Wales In the nineteenth century, Welsh nonconformity, within which the Methodists were the largest denomination, was strongly connected to the Welsh language, though not exclusively so. Anglicanism, in turn, was often associated with the English language and landed gentry. The growth in Welsh political radicalism in the 19th century was closely tied to the surge of Nonconformism. The wealthier and more established farm owners and the middle class spoke English. But the rapid industrializing and growth of coal and iron brought many poor farmers out of agriculture into much better paying industrial jobs, thus providing a better financial base for the Nonconformists. Local rates (taxes) funded the Anglican churches. By the 1880s, over 350,000 men and women were officially members of one of the four main Nonconformist denominations, and there were also larger numbers of "adherents" who attended services and other chapel-based activities but were not officially recorded as members. While there were some differences between the denominations, such as the Baptists' insistence on total immersion, these were less significant by the later 19th century than previously. In political terms, especially after the more conservative Calvinistic Methodists became more involved in political activity in the wake of the 1847 Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales and the 1868 General Election, the chapels spoke largely as one in their opposition to the social and political dominance of the clergy and landed gentry, particularly in rural areas. The relative absence of these influences in the industrial valleys made Nonconformity even more powerful, especially given that many of the leading coal owners of the late 19th century were Welsh-speaking Nonconformists. It has been said that the chapels "formed almost a kind of unofficial established religion". Calvinistic Methodists The Calvinistic Methodists were the largest