by Laura Bray
St John’s Church, Penydarren, has been a local landmark for 150 years. It was built in 1858 on what was then the edge of Penydarren and over the years its fortunes have waxed and waned; now it is not a church at all, but flats.
The original church was designed by a Mr Brigden of Dowlais and was constructed of patterned stone rubble, with the north entrance under a stone gable. However, with 40 years it had fallen into disrepair and was too small for the growing community which it served, so a concerted fundraising effort was embarked upon to rebuild it. The vicar, the Rev D Evans, realised that the church also needed a hall, but because of the topography of the site, this needed to be underneath the church, which doubled the cost. But the vision became a reality in 1907 when the Bishop of Llandaff laid the foundation stone, and then dedicated the new building on 10 October 1908.
The church was designed by the architect Mr Bruce Vaughan, in the Early English style, with faced stonework, arches and windows of red Ruabon brick and 5 light traceried windows. It boasted a nave of 65′ 6″ long by 28′ wide, with two aisles, a south chapel, chancel and choir vestry and could now hold nearly 600 worshippers. The church hall was of similar proportions, with facilities for classrooms.
Not surprisingly such grandeur came at a cost – estimated as £6500, over £750,000 in today’s money, no small achievement.
But as mentioned, such are the vagaries of fortune and while St John’s remained a functioning church, its fabric was gradually neglected over the ensuing decades. Fast forward to the late 1970s and the Rev Bill Morgan took over and began another restoration project, giving the building a much needed facelift and putting in new stained-glass windows. It was rededicated by Bishop John Poole Hughes in the early 1980’s. Lamentably, the church never really recovered its former grandeur and as the 21st century began, the church was slowly closed and boarded up before being sold in 2009 and subsequently demolished.
I started going there in the 70’s when Bill Morgan took over. I remember going into the Church before Bill started the renovations and you could see straight down into the Crypt. He started a small brass band there, my daughter played the cornet in it. she also sometimes played the organ along side Mr Fred Addis who was the organist. Prince Charles and Bishop Desmond Tutu visited. It was a very friendly Church and I really enjoyed my worship there. It changed when Bill passed away and we had a new priest.