St Michael and All Angels Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in the village of

Tongwynlais is a village and Community (Wales), community in the north of Cardiff, Wales, north of the M4 motorway in the River Taff, Taff Valley. It is notable as the location of the hillside landmark, . The population as of the 2011 census was 1871. Top ...

, South Wales, serving the parish of the same name. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Early history

Historically belonging to the Parish of Whitchurch, Tongwynlais had no Anglican church of its own until 1850. Although the Ainon Baptist Church had existed since 1828, Anglican residents of the village were still obliged to travel nearly 2.5 miles to St Mary's Church in Whitchurch. In 1850, Henry Lewis, the squire of Greenmeadow, had his coach-house converted into a church and school, obviating the journey to Whitchurch for the first time. In 1875, he donated a site for a new purpose-built church, together with £100 towards the new building. Contributions were also received from the Llandaff Church Extension Society and the

Melingriffith Tin Plate Works The Melingriffith Tin Plate Works (alternate: Melingriffith Tin and Iron Works; Welsh, ''Melingruffydd''; translation, "Griffith's Mill") were post medieval tin and iron works located on Tŷ-mawr Road, in Whitchurch, Cardiff, Wales. Founded so ...

, and the church's founding stone was laid in 1875 with

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard wa ...

engaged as architect. The church, constructed in red and grey sandstone, was opened in February 1877, and would function as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

to St Mary's Church, Whitchurch for the next 44 years. Its

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

was donated by

Herbert Cory Sir James Herbert Cory, 1st Baronet (2 February 1857 – 2 February 1933) was a Welsh politician and ship-owner. He was born at Padstow, the younger son of John Cory (founder of Cardiff-based firm John Cory, Sons & Co – not to be confused wi ...

in thanksgiving for the safe return of the villagers who fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Independent Parish

After the formation of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

in 1920, changes were carried out to the parish structures in the area. In 1921, St Michael's was partitioned from the Parish of Whitchurch, and was placed in a new Parish of Tongwynlais. The new parish was initially in the Deanery of Caerphilly, but has since been transferred to the Deanery of Llandaff. St Michael's saw its graveyard reduced in width in 1950 owing to a road-widening scheme. In 1954, St Michael's was joined in its parish by St James' Church in

Taff's Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the Capital city, capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the S ...

and St Mary's Church in

Nantgarw Nantgarw is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Cardiff. From an electoral and administrative perspective Nantgarw falls within the ward of Taffs Well, a village some south, but historically fell within the boundari ...

, which had both been separated from the Parish of Eglwysilan, though St Mary's in Nantgarw closed in 1983. St Michael's gained listed status in 1977. St Michael's current priest-in-charge is Revd. Zoe King, who took over from Anthony Russell in 2015.

St Mary & St James, Taff's Well

The church of St Mary and St James in Taff's Well remains St Michael's sister church. Originally dedicated solely to St James, the building was erected on Church Street in 1869, originally as a school. It continued in this role until replaced by the current village school in 1879 and subsequently saw conversion into a church. It has a war memorial commemorating local people lost during the two world wars and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. After St Mary's in Nantgarw closed in 1983, St James' amended its dedication to St Mary and St James in commemoration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael and All Angels Church, Tongwynlais Churches completed in 1877 19th-century Church in Wales church buildings 1850 establishments in Wales