St Dyfrig's Church is a listed Roman Catholic church in the village of

Treforest Treforest () is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pontypridd Town ...

near

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

, South Wales. The church was founded in the 19th century, though the present structure dates from the 1920s.

Original church

A Catholic presence began in Treforest soon after the Great Famine in Ireland (1840s), when many Irish immigrants arrived in South Wales. At the time, there was no place of worship in Treforest, and spiritual needs were catered for by clergy travelling in from

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

and

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

. A school was founded in , though Aberdare continued issuing baptismal certificates for the district until 1868. The first St Dyfrig's (the saint was first referred to by his Latin name of Dubricius) was opened on Bridge Street in 1868. At first, the school was annexed to it, but in 1884 it moved to a new location, where it remained into the early 1960s.

Current church

Soon after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the original church was becoming too small for its congregation. In 1914, Senghennydd was partitioned from Treforest, with the congregants from the area transferring to the new All Souls Church in Senghenydd, though overcrowding remained a problem at St Dubricius', with worshippers sometimes obliged to sit outside the door. Work began on the replacement church on Broadway in 1926, and it was consecrated on 24 November 1927 by Archbishop Francis Mostyn. In the 1930s, the dedication was amended from Dubricius to Dyfrig. There was a reordering in the 1950s, when a new altar was installed. A life-sized crucifix and side-panels were added in 1999 by Penanne Crabbe. The church gained Listed status in 2001. The church is open during the week, and as the only Catholic church within easy distance of the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

' Treforest campus, it is often attended by students during term time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treforest, Saint Dyfrig Churches completed in 1927 Grade II listed churches in Rhondda Cynon Taf Roman Catholic churches completed in 1927 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia Religious organizations established in 1868 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom