History

The history of Christ Church Merthyr Tydfil

This is the history of Christ Church, Merthyr Tydfil. It is not just a history of a building but of people who wanted to bring glory to God through servanthood, sometimes in the face of great adversity. It is a place where the word of God has been heard and spoken since its beginning and were people have been able to worship God in freedom.

1844 -1914

The first half of the nineteenth century saw tremendous changes in Merthyr Tydfil. It had been transformed from a small village into a large, overpopulated, polluted, iron producing town. In a letter dated July 19th 1844 the Rector of Merthyr wrote to the Church Commissioners asking for their help to build a new church “to relieve the spiritual destitution of the place”. The congregation were mainly to come from the Georgetown and Ynysfach areas of Merthyr. That new church became Christ Church.

The area around where the new church would be built was dominated by the huge Cyfarthfa Ironworks. Sickness and industrial injury and work related deaths were common. Housing was mixed in standard but the one up, one down houses, in the lane immediately below where Christ Church would be built, were probably the worst in the town. A narrow road gave access to the church.

In December 1845 the plan to build the new church was laid before Her Majesty in Council by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and approved. At the same time an unidentified lady donated £1000 “to erect a church where it is most needed and where infidelity is most prevalent” and it was decided that the Cyfarthfa area fitted the requirement and the Rev John Howells B.A.  was appointed the first Vicar Of Christ Church. The church was to be built on land donated by Lord Dynevor and a Mr. E P Richards of Cardiff.

The Rev Howells set about his task of establishing the new church with determination. He raised the extra money needed by approaching a number of sources including hand writing 7,000 appeal letters to prominent people all over the country.

Building work started in 1853. The church was designed by Mr James Bennett, Gothic in style with a small spire at the west end and a cross at the east. It was built out of local limestone and was decorated with a number of gargoyles, no two of which are said to be the same. The Church was dedicated by Bishop Ollivant on the 30th of April 1857. Music was provided by the world famous Crawshay Ironworks Band and after the service many of the notables were invited to lunch by the owner of the Ironworks, Mr Crawshay, at his Cyfarthfa Castle home. 

The church had no organ or choir vestry and music for the services were provided by a band. The band was supposed to be housed in galleries over the transepts but this was soon found to be unsuitable as the spaces under the transepts were very dark and no one would sit there.

The new church could have been classified as “Low Church”. There was probably clear glass in all the windows and no heating. A passed down story speaks of the church not bothering to have alter candlesticks until a visit from a bishop prompted the congregation to acquire some.

Rev Howells died aged 62 on August 30th 1868. His first congregation had consisted of 20 very poor people but he left a prospering church that had begun to enrich the spiritual life of many. 

He was succeeded by Rev Howel Kirkhouse MA whose family had close connections to the Crawshay Ironmasters and who served God in Christ Church for 46 years and continued the principles of Low Churchmanship. Throughout the Rev Kirkhouse’s tenure many changes occurred.

Around 1870 the environment around the church worsened. Lime kilns were built nearby and huge cinder tips were being established on either side of the road giving out blue sulphurous flames as red hot cinders were continually being tipped there.

There was a rapid growth in Sunday School attendance. Between 1868 and 1914 the numbers varied between two hundred and fifty and four hundred. There were outings in the summer and parties in the winter. Other social activities also increased including tea parties, concerts and choir outings. A sewing guild for women and a Boys Brigade were established. Some of these events brought much needed funds.

The band left and funds were raised for the installation of an organ. Later another organ was purchased with pneumatic action in the pedals, the first in the area with this improvement.

From the 1870s onward there was a countrywide decline in church attendances in Britain but this was not the case in Christ Church. Reports state that congregations were large and growing with advice being given to go early to make sure of a seat.

In 1893 the disliked south transept was removed and the dangerous steps leading up to it boarded up.

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria brought other changes. Money was raised to create new stained glass windows for the east and west (rose window) of the church. The East Window depicts the Via Dolorosa (Jesus’ last walk towards the cross) and has been described as one of the finest of its kind in the valleys. A Mr Shuffling was paid £200 for both windows which included an extra £5 in appreciation of his work. On one side of the widow was painted the Ten Commandments and the Creed and Lord’s Prayer on the other.

The parish remained a poor one. The following extracts are taken from reports by Howel Kirkhouse to the Commissioners in Aug 1898. “In the best of times the parish is a very poor one, but for the last four months, the mines and the iron and steel works have been closed owing to a most disastrous strike and consequently there is very great distress.”

This was not the only period of adversity. Reliant on the ironworks for employment, the prosperity of the majority of the parishioners was interlinked with the industry. It was sometimes prosperous. It was sometimes not. By the 1870’s the Cyfarthfa Ironworks was declining to a point of near total collapse. Its reconstruction as a steelworks brought some relief, but in later years most of the Company’s profits came from mining. From about 1890 and 1900 there was the depositing of coal tips around the Church and its surrounding area. The Cyfarthfa family sold the business in 1902 and it closed a few years later.

Some extra prosperity of the church was brought around 1900 when a doctrinal rift at St David’s Church in Merthyr saw an influx of some of the most prominent families in the town to worship at Christ Church.

Howel Kirkhouse died in August 1914 and was greatly missed. He was succeeded by E R Davies BA.

1914-1950

Rev E R Davies began his ministry in November 1914 and immediately faced difficult and challenging times. The First World War had started on the previous August the 4th. Men, rich and poor alike, joined up. Some went in the name of duty, others to get away from the drudgery of their daily lives. Others stayed at home as the war effort needed to keep the mines producing coal. Later in the war, the steel works reopened. With God’s help, the Church gave aid and reassurance to its parishioners.

Church life carried on despite the war. A Parish magazine was started and delivered by the girls belonging to the bible class. The Sunday school continued to flourish with a membership of around 370. A Women’s Guild was established and there was a growing attendance at Sunday morning mission. In 1915 discussions started about the building of a church hall to help house all the church activities. In 1917 the church windows had to be blacked out owing to Zeppelin raids. Money was given to causes such as the Red Cross and the Prisoners of War Fund.

At the end of the war some returnees to the parish found life very hard. 1n 1919 the Steel works closed for the final time. Despite or because of this it was reported that in Christ Church “congregations are larger than ever”. It is recognised that in 1920, congregational numbers were at their peak. It is thought that at this time the church could seat approximately 500 to 600 people.

In 1920, following the Disestablishment Act, the first Parochial Church Council PCC was formed.

The year 1921 saw a very welcome addition to the church when new heating system was installed. The new boiler and heating pipes cost £100 and stilled the congregation’s complaints about the coldness of the building. More concerts, sales of works and bazaars were held which resulted in a growth in church finances. A Guides’ troop was started in the same year. The choir continued to grow and the number of choir boys rose to 46 which may have had a link with the fact that E R Davies could get them free entry to football matches.

In 1922 the North Transept was dismantled and the organ moved to where it is found today. In 1923 the new church hall was built. It was called The Kirkhouse Memorial Hall (now Coolers nightclub). With great effort, the congregation had managed to raise a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately a loan was also needed and this caused financial problems for many years to come.

The area around the church was changing. The ending of the steel works meant a cleaner, quieter environment. In the 1920’s new housing began to be built near the church. Brondeg, a council housing estate was constructed at the bottom of Heolgerrig offering paired housing with spacious layouts.

In 1927 E R Davies died at the age of 51. He was greatly missed being described as “A man possessed of an abundance of real Christian charity and human sympathy”.

He was succeeded by E H Robinson Hughes BA in 1928. 

In March 1948 Revd Stanley H Mogford was inducted to the church. He found problems waiting for him. So much time had been spent trying to repay loans and discussing the Kirkhouse Hall and the new vicarage that no time had been spent on the maintenance of the church. This had disastrous repercussions.

The day after his induction Revd Mogford found one of the large asbestos sheets lining the roof above the nave had fallen in damaging some of the seating. It is said that he spent his first Sunday hoping that the choir would not sing too loudly in case other sheets were dislodged. About 30 more sheets could be seen sliding out of their positions. All were taken down and replaced. The next problem was dry rot in the roof with some rafters being absolutely rotten. These were replaced with imitation concrete ones.

A consequence of the roof problem was that the Bath coping stone had become brittle and porous and about half had to be removed and replaced with cement. In addition some of the walls had to repointed, slating had to be overhauled and battens replaced. In 1950 the choir vestry roof needed repairing as water was leaking through. Extra troughing was added, slates replaced and a coating of bitumastic paint applied but problems persisted.

In the same year there was a need to improve the church grounds and asphalt was laid between the west door and the choir vestry. Some good news was that a new boiler had been installed and two radiators were replaced. In addition two new radiators were installed giving extra warmth to the body of the church. In the following years active woodworm was found in the pews. It was fought against but eventually the pews had to be replaced.

More gifts were given including a new Bible, candlesticks, prayer books, vases, some new carpeting and three oak doors.

During Revd Mogford’s time the congregation rose in size and the Sunday school expanded. In 1950 a special mission was held in which every house in Georgetown and Heolgerrig was visited and special services held to spread the word of God and attract fresh members to the church.

In 1951 real excitement was felt in the church and parish when Christ Church was chosen to broadcast four July Sunday morning services on the Light Programme on the BBC (forerunner of Radio 2). The services were well received and a recording was purchased and presented to the vicar as a memento.

In the early 1950’s a new housing estate was built at Gellideg on old farmland. Revd Mongford realised the need for a spiritual presence in the new estate and negotiated the use of a contractors’ hut to house a Sunday school. Every Sunday, the contents of the hut were moved to one end to make room for the children. As the estate grew, it was necessary to move the hut around the site and the Sunday school moved with it. Despite all the problems, the school grew with numbers fluctuating between 50 and 100 children attending. It was clear to Revd Mogford that a more stable Christian centre was needed and he started negotiations to build a new church at the centre of the estate.

Revd Mogford left in 1954. He was greatly missed. He has been described as utterly sincere, possessed wisdom, patience and tact and that his application of Christian principles to everyday life was an example to the whole parish.

In 1954 the Rev Clifford Evans became vicar of Christ Church.