Our Churches:

St Mabon's:

The original church would have been a simple wooden structure that has left no remains after 1500 years. There is mention in the Vatican Archives of the rebuilding of the church by the Earl of Hereford in the eleventh century.

By 1836, this building had fallen into disrepair and the then Rector appealed to the Church Building Society requesting grants for a programme of restoration. This appears not to have been successful. In 1846, it was decided to demolish the medieval building and rebuild. The architect was John Pritchard, who was later to restore Llandaff Cathedral. Here is an ink drawing [© used with permission] of St Mabon's by local artist Chris Griffin, which he produced in 1979.

St John's:

Due to the expansion of the village of Nelson during the mid 19th century - Llanfabon's population was a mere 475 in 1801, but by 1901 it had increased to 4,035 - it was decided to build a daughter church closer to the new population. At the time, this would have been described as a Chapel of ease to Llanfabon. The original church of St John Baptist was completed in 1888.

By the end of the century the original church was considered to be too small. In 1904 it was extended and a tower was added. This is how St John's appears today...