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Remembrance of Nonconformist and other chapels in The Rhondda

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Welsh Church Commission - Evidence of: Rev. John Rees - 13th February, 1907 <<>>

6598. Then the churches seem to be (a) Holy Trinity; (b) St. Mary Magdalen; (c) Welsh Mission Church......

6609. ......Then the Welsh mission, is that an iron church? - It is an iron building which I bought from the Comgregationalists and the minister who was there then , from whom, together with his trustees, I bought the building, told me that it would accommodate 300 people.......

6652. Then we have 'Collected for building of Welsh church, 1906, £1,002.' That has not been expended yet; is that so? - No; I have received that amount for building the new church for the Welsh at Tylorstown instead of the present iron building, and the parish has in hand £1,002. Then I have had promises up to about £1,760.

6653. Including the £1,002? - Yes, I have received promises at the present time up to £1,760, and we are now begging for it. I shall be glad if you will allow me at the close to take my hat around.

6654. Then we shall see how far Nonconformists and Churchmen co-operate? - Thank you.

6661. (Sir John Williams) You commenced your ministry in the Rhondda Valley in 1879, so you know it well? - Yes, I know a good deal of the Rhondda Valley.

6662. The district of Mardy to Cymmer consists of several parishes now? - Three parishes at present.

6663. What are they? - Christ Church, Ferndale; Tylorstown and Ynyshir.

6664. Is Porth in it? - Well, it is in the big Rhondda. These parishes are in the little Rhondda Valley.

6709. (Professor Henry Jones) Can you tell us what Nonconformist chapels there are in the parish of Tylorstown? - In Tylorstown proper?
6710. In the ecclesiastical parish; - In Tylorstown proper, as far as I can say, the Welsh Methodists have one chapel, and no English with them.

6711. What is the name of that chapel? - If you have got the names I can tell you.

6712. Is it Libanus? - Yes.

6713. Where is Sion? - That is very likely the Wesleyan or English Baptist.

6714. It is given me as being another Calvinistic Methodist chapel, Sion and Libanus? - That would be in Pontygwaith; I do not know about that.

6715. What about the Baptists? - The Baptists at Tylorstown itself have one chapel, Welsh, and a similar chapel, English; they have one chapel at Pontygwaith. We have one English cause and one Welsh cause in Tylorstown proper; the Congregationalists have one Welsh and one English; the Baptists have one Welsh and one English; and the Methodists have only one chapel, that is Welsh; and the Welsh Wesleyans have only one chapel, Welsh, in Tylorstown, proper.

6716. (Chairman) I see in the Baptist book: 'Tylorstown, English, 1896, accommodation 300, members 91; Horeb, 1898, accommodation 700, 350 members? - They are at Pontygwaith, I believe.

6717. (Professor Henry Jones) I am ignorant of the geography of the district. Is Pontygwaith a part of the ecclesiastical portion of Tylorstown? - Yes.

6718. I wanted all in the ecclesiastical portion of Tylorstown? - Yes.

6719. We had better proceed again. Would I be right in saying that there are in the ecclesiastical parish of Tylorstown two Welsh Baptist? - Yes.

6720. Two Welsh Congregationalists, Ebenezer and Soar? - Yes.

6721. Two Welsh Calvinistic Methodists? - Yes.

6722. Those are Libanus and Sion? - Yes.

6723. And one Wesleyan? - Yes.

6724. And one English Baptist, Bethel? - Yes.

6725. One Congregationalist, namely, Bethania? - Yes.

6726. And one Calvinistic Methodist? - Yes; they call it the Primitive Methodist.

6727. I have it here as a forward movement? - They call it a hall.

6728. (Archdeacon Owen Evans) May I ask Mr. Rees to explain what he meant when he said 'Tylorstown proper'?

6729. How do you distinguish between Tylorstown proper and what we are dealing with now-the ecclesiastical parish? - Tylorstown is a village by itself, and Pontygwaith is a village by itself; they are divided by a small rivulet or brook, but they adjoin each other; and then there is a small village called Stanleytown.

6730. Is the whole of that under your charge now as part of your parish? - Yes, Tylorstown, Pontygwaith, and Stanleytown.

6731. In order to compare the number of chapels with the number of churches you must take the wider area that Professor Jones takes? - Yes.

6732. (Lord Hugh Cecil) How far are these two villages from one another? - They are adjoining one another.

6733. They actually touch; there is no apparent difference; it looks like own town? - Yes.