The Parish of Ystradgynlais
It is generally
believed that there has been a church in Ystradgynlais since the 5/6th century.
The picture on the
left is of the church, which dates back to the 13-14th century.
The church is dedicated to St Cynog who was the eldest son of Brychan
of Brycheiniog.
By 1856 the old
parish church had become too small. The population of Ystradgynlais had nearly
quadrupled from 1821-1841 from 1181 to 4346 people due to the industrialisation
of the area. By June 12th 1861 the new parish church, on the right, was
finished and it opened for its first service on Wednesday 12th June 1861 but it
was not officially consecrated until December of that year.
The church's new
features included short cast iron pillars supporting the arcading along the
side aisles and it is most probable but unproven that these pillars were made
at the Ynyscedwyn ironworks.The
most famous wedding to have taken place in the church was the wedding of Madam
Adeline Patti of Craig y Nos, the famous opera singer
to Count Ernest Nicolini on the 10th of June 1886.
Note that Madam Patti was noted as a spinster but was in fact separated from
her first husband a fact the rector turned a 'blind eye' to.
Madam Patti had
promised to fund the building of a bell tower for the newly built church but
due to a 'falling out' with the rector the offer was withdrawn.Copies
of the parish registers are complete from 1712 and can be found in the Parish
Church, West Glamorgan archives, and Ystradgynlais Library.
Updated September 2019