Where does St John’s come from?
We continue to research the history of St John’s and know that originally it was the only place of worship in our village of Tonyrefail (or Ton yr Efail ) going all the way back to the 11th century. 1092 to be exact.
At roughly the same time in Jerusalem a hospital was being built by a group of Monks to care for the many pilgrims who had become ill on their travels to the holy land. The men and women who worked there created a new religious order known as the Hospitallers since they cared for everyone, without distinction of race or faith.
After the Crusaders captured Jerusalem the Hospitallers took on a military role and became the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. During the next 700 years the Knights moved throughout the region finally ending up in Malta until the island was surrendered to Napoleon in 1798. Today it still has headquarters in Rome and focuses on Charity work.
The history of the Order of St John’s is rich and leads ultimately to the St John’s Ambulance charity. Here at the Friends of St John community, we are continuing to research the history of our unique ex-Church and graveyard. We don’t think that originally it was called St John’s and understand that it was built by one of the large families in the area. At the time the area was fully Welsh speaking so a church called St John’s doesn’t make sense.
The Navel Colliery disaster remembered
Today we remember the 101 men and boys who tragically lost their lives at 1.15am on the 10th of December 1880 in the Naval Colliery disaster, Penygraig.
Of the 101 that passed, we at the Friends of St Johns are custodians of the graves of 25 souls buried there, who include members of the Lewis, Fry, Brooks and Roberts families.
We pay our respects to the families of those lost and reach out to their relatives in the hope of gaining information on them. May they rest peacefully.
The Navel Colliery disaster
It was a dark December night, with collars turned up to guard against the cold and warm breath floating on the night air. Young James Lewis aged 15 and his father, David Lewis, made their way to the Naval Colliery, Pen-y-Graig to start their long and strenuous night shift in the dark and treacherous bowels of the Earth. 
Both would have carried a ‘snap tin’, a metal box in which miners carried their food for their shift, no doubt lovingly prepared by Mam and wife Ann. Little did Ann know, when they left for that fateful shift, that she would never see her son James or her husband David alive again. 107 men and boys aged from 14 to 75, were on shift the night of December 9th 1880, some four hundred and forty yards in to the unforgiving dark, below the soil and the Parsh of Llantrisant. Their work was to mine black gold. Dislodging it from the earth, by pick and by shovel and by hand, bringing it up to the surface. The black rock 300 million years in the making, in vast quantities of 500 tonnes every 24 hours.
It was what the colliery owners had become accustomed to. Disaster struck at around 1.15am, December 10th. A firedamp. A deadly explosion underground when methane gas or any coal gases are ignited. With the alarm raised from the surface, people gathered at the pit mouth. At first light, brave Mr Richards and Mr Davies lead 30 fearless volunteers, including Mr Galloway the deputy mine inspector, in to the Naval downcast shaft to rescue the 107 that went below the previous night.
Cheers of joy, shouts of relief rang out when four men were found alive at the foot of the down shaft, followed shortly by another.
The relief of finding life was short lived as only 1 other soul was found alive. 50 hours after the explosion, sheltered, miraculously, from the blast, fire and fall of stone, in a natural crevice in the coal wall, beside him, a dead miner lay, his only companion in those long and dark 50 hours. When the still and lifeless bodies of father and son David and James Lewis were brought with dignity and care to the pit mouth on December 13th, the South Wales Daily Newspaper reported in its next day’s edition, “from early morning until dark, a Scottish like thick mist rolled down from the hills, soaking to the skin, with the damp it brought, those who lingered at the pit mouth, longing for news of their loved ones”. David died from the horrific injuries he had sustained and alongside him James had died of suffocation. Did David use, in an act of pure love, his own body to protect his son from the anger of the underground that night? Unintentionally preventing the boys ability to draw air, when they fell to ground. We will never know.
They were buried at St John’s graveyard in Tonyrefail. In a grave already tragically occupied by James’s baby brothers, Thomas John who died aged 2 years in 1874 and baby Benjamin 9 months, who died in 1872.
Of the 101 souls lost that morning, eight were under the age of 18, the vast majority were supporting young families.
Brothers died beside brothers and, fathers died beside sons. For the price of coal.
By Angharad Spooner 12/11/23
Tunnels !
I remember going to a friends house once….
Well, to her grandmothers actually. She lived on Collenna road. She had lived in Tonyrefail all her life and was in her 70’s. This was now 30 years ago, when I was a child. Bored, we were looking for something to do and the lady said, “go over St John’s and look for the tunnels!” We both gave a puzzled expression and this prompted her in to a story…… We told a story of tunnels under the church where the monks would hide together with church gold.
Imagine! An old church, an overgrown cemetary and underneath hidden from everyone.. Tunnels and Gold !!
I think we were too scared to explore that day, but I remember not long afterwards, telling my own Grandmother this story. She was born in 1927. She told me that there was a tunnel between the church and Capel farm where girls who got in to trouble would go to have their babies. My grandmother said she clearly remembered, her family, and other residents of Tonyrefail telling the younger generation, that if they misbehaved they would be taken to the tunnels and put in the Workhouse!
I think this story started my love of history. I have always been fascinated by this type of history and the stories of the older generation. When Tonyrefail history and folklore society was running, I went to see an elderly gent who was then living in Mountain Ash House (the last house and big house at the very top of High Street) behind the graveyard as he had some history of the house to share with me. We got talking and in particular about Capel Farm and the Church. He told me that his grandmother had told him that, there was a tunnel somewhere in the church that was connected to the farm and that young ladies who got pregnant out of wedlock could go to the church service on a Sunday and then stay behind after the service and were then moved to the farm through the tunnels. Their families could then say that they had gone away to work or away to stay with family returning after the baby was born, but he had no information on what happened to the babies. He also told me that there was a tunnel connecting St Johns to the church in Llantrisant and it isn’t far as the crow flies and that monks would hide there with Church gold.
Around the same time, I met up with Walter Jones as he had some very early maps and a census to share with me as part of my folklore research and I mentioned both tunnels to him. Walter told me that he was also aware of these stories and strongly believed them to be true. He said that the foundations and site of the church went back to the 11th century which of course made the church catholic. Walter said when he researched he had found that there were many stories, some documented that the tunnels were made during the time when Henry VIII started to get rid of the Catholic churches and the monks would hide in the tunnels with the churches gold and artefacts when the Kings army came knocking. I believe in the very least there would have been some sort of priest hole, even if it didn’t connect to Llantrisant or Capel Farm Workhouse. Walter said he was also aware of the “work house story” but didn’t have as much info on it.
During my research on this, I have found news paper records from 1850’s to 1910’s that mention Capel Farm Fach Workhouse. This was located in the small row of cottages opposite the church. One day, my husband and I were sat outside the Red Cow having a pint when an older gent asked if he could sit on the end of our bench as there was no other room outside. We got talking and history etc come up as he said he has been local all his life. I was explaining to him about the story I had heard recently about St Johns and Capel Farm.
He told me that he had been part of the team that demolished the farm building and that the building had huge and extensive cellars and that some were not part of the original build and seem to have been dug in after its original build. He said from what he saw there he believed that the story if the Farm having a tunnel connecting to the church and the farm being a work house was totally believable and probable in his opinion, due to the number of rooms and overall size below the farm.
By A Spooner
Edward II and his links to Tonyrefail and St John’s
Edward II was born in 1284, took the throne in 1307 and died a little under 20 years later in 1327. An official Welshman having been born in Caernarfon Castle, he was 23 when he took the throne after his older brother Alphonso died and his father Edward the first had also passed.
A year later he had married Isabella of France, the daughter of King Philip IV in a bid to resolve the long-running tensions between Great Britain and France.
He had an strong friendship with a nobleman called Piers Gaveston which provoked discontent from the French royal family and local English baron’s. A few years later after forcing Edward to exile Piers the barons finally ended the friendship by executing Piers which caused King Edward to launch an attack on his cousin the Earl of Lancaster who was eventually sentenced to death for treason.
With all of this going on Edward II also suffered a defeat at the famous Battle of Bannockburn(1314) to Robert the Bruce. It was the constant threat and unsuccessful battles with Scotland during his reign that finally sealed Edwards fate. Especially when a renewed war with France started in 1324.
His Wife, Isabella and young son Edward, travelled to France in 1326 to complete a peace treaty with the country. But they stayed in France and didn’t return to England.
When they did return it was to remove Edward II from the throne. Although they only had a small number of soldiers with them, they met with no resistance from the English and were quickly joined by Edward II’s enemy’s.
Hearing this Edward II left London and headed west to seek refuge in his birthplace of Caernarfon Castle. He got as far as Caerphilly castle when Isabella’s forces drew near. Edward fled the castle on November 2nd 1326 and got as far as our very own Pant-y-brad when he was captured. Its suspected that he was heading towards our St John’s church but was captured just short.
There now arose a problem. Edward was still King and Isabella his wife. There was no process for removing a king from the throne. On January 21st 1327, Edward formally abdicated and was replaced by his son Edward III. After abdicating the crown, He was taken to Gloucester where he stayed for a few months. But when concerns about him returning to power gained traction he was executed in Berkeley Castle on 21st September 1327.
Had he made it to St John’s with the friendly clergy our story might have had a different ending. There is a plaque in Pant-y-brad commemorating his capture.