History of St Mary’s Church - Hanes Eglwys Santes Fair 

Centuries ago, when people were all obliged to attend Sunday worship in their parish church, the residents of Blaengwrach did not have a local place of Anglican worship in the village, but had to travel to St John the Baptist church in Glyn Corrwg.  This made for some lengthy Sunday walking since Blaengwrach is in the Neath Valley, Glyn Corrwg is situated in the Afan Valley and between the two is the 2000ft mountain of Craig-y-llyn.

 

            At the close of the sixteenth century, a wealthy land-owner, George Williams (of the Williams family, Aberpergwm) settled in Blaengwrach.  In view of the difficult journey required in worshipping over the mountain at Glyn Corrwg, Mr Williams commissioned “Welsh poet” Sion Mowddwy to write a letter to the Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop William Morgan, asking for permission to be granted for a place of Anglican worship to be built nearer to Blaengwrach.  The letter, written in Welsh, used the form of cywydd poetry.  poem of St Mary's:

  Permission was granted by the Bishop and a small chapel was built around the turn of the seventeenth century, Capel Bach.  Over the passing years, this initial chapel building is likely to have been rebuilt, and it is certain that in the early 1850s that the church was developed into its present-day design.  It remained a chapel-of-ease to Glyn Corrwg parish and there is no indication of how it became dedicated to St Mary.  A local historian, Ian Currie believes that the dedication originates from an error in an ordinance survey map of the area from 1884, which is the first recorded evidence of the name, “St Mary’s”.  There are no artistical features in the church windows or masonry which point to St Mary.

 It was in 1850 that the 'new' parish of Resolven was formed a little lower down the Neath Valley (hitherto, Resolven had been part of Neath).  It was decided to link Resolven to the grouping of Glyn Corrwg and Blaengwrach.  Vicar David Griffiths chose to officiate at both Resolven and Blaengwrach, but appointed one of his curates to carry out duties at Glyn Corrwg, commenting to his bishop:

"Between the two (Glyn Corrwg and Blaengwrach) is a mountain full of peat bogs which it is almost at times quite impossible for the clergymen to cress so as to do the duty himself at both... Resolven is in the same valley as Blaen Gwrach so that with perfect convenience he can officiate at Resolven and Blaen Gwrach.  More-over Resolven has a house and the benefice of the two other parishes no house."

When this lack of housing was corrected, and a parsonage built in Glyn Corrwg,  the next parish Vicar, William Morris moved in and Glyn Corrwg became the mother church once again.  With the focus shifted over the mountain, Resolven was more distant and was separated off to be an independent parish with it's own Vicar.  In the meantime, Blaengwrach had its own curate until 1897, when the vicar of Aberpergwm started to take responsibilities on behalf of the Glyn Corrwg Vicar.

            The church of St Mary’s and the parish of Blaengwrach was eventually incorporated into the parish of Aberpergwm (Glynneath) in 1940, breaking all ties with its old parish of Glyn Corrwg.   

Click on link below to embark on a tour of St Mary's Church.

 

St Mary's Church Tour

 

Click on link below to return to Church History.

 

 

 

Church History