Church of St John

The Church of St John is an Anglican parish church, largely dating from the 19th century. It is constructed of rubble stone with slate roofs, featuring ashlar dressings. The church is divided into three distinct parts: a large nave and aisle built in 1893-4, a chancel of 1873, and a west transept of 1881.

The nave and aisle are built of rock-faced coursed Llancaiach blue Pennant stone, with Bath stone ashlar dressings to the windows and porches, and sandstone ashlar to the buttresses and turret. The front features an octagonal southwest turret with a sandstone ashlar top stage, narrow louvred openings, a sandstone cap, and a finial. The south front has large stepped buttresses, pierced by pointed arches, and a large triple lancet window in the centre, composed of two lights. Side walls feature gabled porches in the first bay; the east side has three pairs of lancet windows with a stepped triplet, each bay separated by buttresses - the final buttress is taller. The west side has three small paired clerestory lights above a lean-to aisle, which itself features three pairs of lancets and a porch to the right. The east wall is rendered.

The chancel, lower and built of rougher rubble stone, features two lancet windows to the west, a three-light ashlar window to the north, a small, higher lancet window to the west, and a lean-to vestry to the right, with a lancet window to the north, a doorway, and a lancet window to the west; grey limestone quoins are present on both the chancel and vestry. The west transept is similarly constructed in rubble stone with grey stone quoins, featuring a three-light window to the west. It has a blank sill course and plinth course, with inset plaques above the plinth.

The interior originally contained walls of yellow brick in the nave, with an arcade of round columns supporting pointed arches. There were large arches to the transept and three to the aisle, with an additional small arch at the left end. Large hammerbeam trusses supported the nave roof, springing from six large and six smaller corbels. A pointed chancel arch had dog-tooth ornament, while the chancel roof was arch-braced. An organ was located to the left, with doors leading to vestries on either side - the right vestry has since been demolished. A timber reredos with a painted triptych in a 15th-century style is present. A memorial plaque in a Jacobean style commemorates Sir J J Guest (died 1852), and other plaques are dedicated to workers at the iron works. The arcade was blocked in the 20th century. The church contains a hexagonal font, a polygonal pulpit, and a timber transept screen.

Stained glass windows include a depiction of the Ascension in the chancel east window, dedicated to Jane Cresswell (died 1884), and depictions of Faith, Hope, and Charity, dating circa 1900 and by R.J. Newbery, to Mrs J R Jones. A three-light window in the west transept, depicting the Resurrection and Light of the World, dates from circa 1893 and is the work of Jones & Willis (though it is now semi-destroyed). Finally, a three-light window in the nave south side depicting the Creation with scenes of industry, dedicated to the Martin family, dates from 1896 and is by R J Newbery.