page_title: Rhondda
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Rhondda / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Statue of Our Lady, Virgin Mary, Penrhys, Rhondda, Wales.
context_page_description: Rhondda, or the Rhondda Valley, is a former coal mining area in South Wales, previously in Glamorgan, and now a local government district, of 16 communities around the River Rhondda. The Rhondda is actually two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley – so that the singular "Rhondda Valley" and the plural are both commonly used. In 2001, the Rhondda constituency of the National Assembly for Wales had a population of 72,443; while the National Office of Statistics counted the population as 59,602. Rhondda forms part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough and of the South Wales Valleys. It is most noted for its historical coal-mining industry, which peaked between 1840 and 1925. The valleys produced a strong early Nonconformist Christian movement manifest in the Baptist chapels that moulded Rhondda values in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also famous for strong masculine cultural ties exemplified in its male voice choirs, sport and politics.
context_section_description: The commote of Glynrhondda was coterminous with the earlier parish of Ystradyfodwg, but little is known of the Celtic saint Tyfodwg, or Dyfodwg, after whom the parish is named. He is thought to have lived around AD 600. Although the parish bears his name, there are now no religious monuments or places of worship named after him within the Rhondda boundaries, although two churches outside the area are named after him: Y Tre Sant in Llantrisant and Saint Tyfodwg’s in Ogmore Vale.
  The earliest known religious monument is the Catholic holy well in Penrhys first mentioned in the 15th century, though it may have been a place of pagan worship before. This pilgrimage site was identified as a manor belonging to the Cistercian Abbey of Llantarnam and was seen as one of the most important religious sites in Wales, due to its Marian shrine. This holy site was the main reason people would pass through the commote; it was even thought to be the main reason why the first bridges were built over the River Rhondda.
  During the Middle Ages, the parish church of Ystradyfodwg near the bank of the River Rhondda served the parishioners of the Rhondda Fawr, while the families of the Rhondda Fach attended Llanwynno Church. The inhabitants of the lower Rhondda, in the vicinity of Porth and Dinas, needed to reach Llantrisant to hear a service.
  Despite the importance of the Anglican Church to parishioners, the growing strength of Nonconformity made itself felt in the 18th century. In 1738 the Reverend Henry Davies formed the Independent Cause in Cymmer and five years later a Ty Cwrdd or meeting house was opened there. Although attracting families from as far away as Merthyr and the parish of Eglwysilan, there were no other Nonconformist Causes until David Williams began preaching in the Rhondda in 1784. In 1785 six people were baptised in the river near Melin-yr-Om and in 1786 Ynysfach was opened in Ystrad as "a new house for religious services". This was the first Baptist chapel in the Rhondda and later became known as Nebo, Ystrad Rhondda. Cymmer and Ynysfach chapel would be the forerunners in a new religious movement in the valley for the next 150 years. In the early 19th century there were only three places of worship in the Rhondda; the parish church (now dedicated to St John the Baptist) and the Cymmer and Ynysfach chapels. This changed rapidly after 1855 as coal mining brought an influx of population, and by 1905 there were 151 chapels in the valley.
  Chapel life was central to valley life throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but as with many communities throughout Britain, the post-war periods saw a decline in regular membership. To an extent the number of places of worship declined with the population, but this was exacerbated in the Rhondda by a swift decline in the number of Welsh speakers. Welsh-language chapels in particular saw a sharp drop in membership from the 1950s, and many closed in the next half-century. By 1990 the Rhondda had less than 50 places of worship and many premises had been demolished.
caption: Statue to "Our Lady", the pilgrimage site at Penrhys
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