Religion in Llanhilleth and surrounds

Prior to the influx of people to the countryside there was little money to pay for grand buildings for worship.    Local people would open their homes for people to gather to worship.   One such person was Nest Shon Prosser, who lived on Llanhilleth’s mountainside. 

In 1865, Gen Wm Booth created the Salvation Army.   In 1907 and 1909 “The Great Man,” himself visited Trinity Chapel, Church St. Abertillery on a Motor tour of Wales.  Crowds travelled from the surrounding area to be in his presence and hear him speak. 
  

At the turn of the century a great religious fervour swept the country, known as “The Last Welsh Revival.”    Revivalists encouraged temperance and regular chapel attendance.   Evan Roberts, the Revivalist, (1878-1951) visited Abertillery in 1905 from West Wales.   He toured the South Wales Valleys holding meetings which were very well attended.

Christmas in 1906 was ushered in at Llanhilleth amongst signs of great rejoicing.   The Llanhilleth Band paraded the streets, while choirs from local churches rendered ‘sweet carols.’   A service was held on Christmas morning at Zion Congregational Church with Rev. S D Williams.

Special services were held at the parish church of St Illtyds which was beautifully decorated. 

In the late nineteenth century there were twenty five chapels in Llanhilleth:
            one welsh-speaking,
            one Church of England,
            Salvation Army and
            Pentecostal
            but no Catholic.   

Salvation Army Building, Llanhilleth

These chapels were the original source of friends, community support, education and recreation in the Valleys.  

Chapels and Churches introduced Sunday School in the nineteenth century to provide structure to Sunday for the working classes and help with education and literacy levels.  With no work on the Lord’s Day, working-class people had free time.  The upper classes felt this encouraged sloth and antisocial behaviour.  (“The Devil finds work for idle hands,” was a general saying.) 

Later Sunday School charabanc trips both locally and to places such as Barry Island were a highlight of everyone’s year.

St Illtyd's Church

St Illtyds

Originally built of wood, St. Illtyd’s Church was altered and rebuilt in the 9^th century and then again in the late 12^th century by Cistercian monks, and served as Llanhilleth Parish Church until 1910 when Christchurch at Aberbeeg took the role.

Closed in 1957, the building quickly fell into sad decay, and was totally abandoned until the Church of Wales passed it onto private ownership in 1984.   Blaenau Gwent Council restored it with the help of CADW.  The Friends of St. Illtyds now help maintain the building.

English Baptist

The English Baptist Church of Llanhilleth opened in 1896 with seating for 600 worshippers.  Now demolished, residents may still remember its location which was close to the present day Llanhilleth Rugby Club.   For the Baptists of Llanhilleth, at the end of the nineteenth century, their mentor was Thomas Griffiths of Abertillery.

Glandwr Baptist Chapel

Opened in 1838, although services had previously been carried out in local farmhouses in the area as early as 1662.

Glandwr Baptist

Between 1838 and 1901 the population of the parish of Llanhilleth expanded from approximately 500 to 5,000, so the chapel was rebuilt and re-opened in 1907 to cater for a huge growth in congregation.   Immigrants consisted not only of Welsh and English from the bordering counties, but an ongoing influx of Irish and other nationalities, all to fill the demands of coal excavation and its supporting infrastructure.

Presbyterian Church

Opened in 1906, the Presbyterian Church in Six Bells was built, but unfortunately closed in 1968.

Christchurch

Later, in 1909, Christchurch was built in fourteenth century style, with seating for a congregation of 400.  The three local colliery owners Budds, Lancasters, and Partridge Jones all helped finance its cost of £6,278.58. 

Christchurch, Trinant

Zion Miners' Chapel, High Street, Llanhilleth

The church held its first services on 27 and 28 May 1877 as a single storey structure, it was later rebuilt to its present specification.

In 1874 a group of people started meeting in the district of Llanhilleth, worshipping in the Congregational tradition. As Llanhilleth at that time was a small farming community of just 1383. The church began its life worshipping in various houses. In 1874 Mr John Andrews its first Secretary and Mr Pritchard its first Treasurer began the arduous task of raising funds to construct a building for worship.

Zion was built and consecrated by the mining community of Llanhilleth in a time of severe depression, depicting their dedication to God. The first minister Rev R.J Jones was ordained by the church in July 1882 to travel to Australia.

In 1929 the ninth annual eisteddfod of what was then known as Zion Congregational Church was held at the Workmen’s Institute at Llanhilleth.   Amongst the usual songs and solos, a new item was included in the form of four questions from the Coal Mines Regulations Act.   (Colliery officials were debarred.)   There was only one competitor and Mr Theo Jones awarded the prize to Mr Edward Whittington of Llanhilleth.

In July 2010, a ceremony of dedication by the Bishop of Monmouth Right Reverend Dominic Walker and service led by Reverend Viv Nicholls celebrated the unveiling of three memorial windows to Llanhilleth colliery 1855-1969.

The three windows depict Llanhilleth Colliery, a miner, and the Zion Chapel, the three keystones of village life. 

The £3,500 donations required for the memorial were collected within eight weeks.

160 people attended to dedicate the windows designed by artist ‘Ketch,’ and produced by local company, New World Glass.    Local residents performed poems, solos and speeches before the congregation moved to the Llanhilleth Institute for a buffet and evening of entertainment which included Abertillery  Town Silver Band, Ross Leadbetter and Elizabeth Webb.  

   Local councillors then held a discussion at Llanhilleth Institute, recollecting memories and anecdotes of life in the coal mining era.