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This is quite a spectacular church to find in such a small Welsh mining village. The dedication to St. Tyfaelog is an unusual one. ‘Ty’ is an honorific title given to Maelog, a 6thCentury Welshman who studied under Cadoc at Llancarfan.

 

The church opened in November 1863 founded by the Revd. Gilbert Harries and was at that time part of the Parish of Gelligaer, which stretched 7 miles up the valley to Pontlottyn. Prior to moving to Gelligaer, Canon Harries was Rector of Llandefaelogfach in Breconshire from 1855 to 1862.  He chose to dedicate the church in Pontlottyn to St. Tyfaelog after his former Parish Llandefaelogfach which was also dedicated to St. Maelog. A marble plaque in the porch at St Tyfaelog’s commemorates his life and importance to the Church.

 

On the 8th day of October 1863, the land and buildings for the site of a school and church at Pontlottyn was formally handed over to the Parish of Gelligaer by the Williams family of Maesruddud (the present-day site of the Maes Manor Hotel). Despite the fact that the building was now ready following the laying of the foundation stone on the 21st April that year, by Miss Mary Williams, the opening was delayed. When the building was completed, the church had a debt of £300.  As a Bishop will not dedicate a church that is not free of debt this needed to be cleared before the Church could open.

 

The money to pay off this debt was kindly donated by:

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  • Stuart Buchan of Rhymney (£100) whose father had earlier paid for the building of St David’s church in the neighbouring parish.

  • Edmund Davies Williams of Maesruddud (£100),

  • The Rev. Canon Harries of Gelligaer founder of St. Tyfaelog (£100).

  • With its debt paid, the church was dedicated on 11th November 1863 by Bishop Alfred Ollivant.

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The history of a church is in reality the history of the community it serves, and so the history of Pontlottyn Church is the history of the generations who have worshipped within its walls. Built to serve the growing population of the area during the expansion of the coal industry, its history reflects that of the village itself, sharing its joys and sorrows, its prosperity and times of hardship.

 

The Church’s record books speak their own story reflecting the development of the town itself. As the prosperity of the town increased with the influx of industry its social problems decreased. Whatever problems we face as a society today they fade into insignificance compared to those of our ancestors. As can be seen if we look at the early record books where on one page of the death register, of the 15 deaths that are registered, 11 are those of children. This speaks volumes of the lack of health care and poverty in the area and shows how far we have progressed.

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