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members at Llanwonno and used to ride over the
mountains every Sunday to attend divine service
there. How different to professed Christians of the
present day.
As has already been stated the Methodists and Independ-
ents commenced to hold services together at Ystrad (now Ystrad
Rhondda) in 1856. In 1857 an appeal was made to
the Monthly Meeting for permission to build a chapel. On
the 11th of September 1857 the Revd. W. Evans, Tonyrefail visited
the neighbourhood for the purpose of selecting a site. A suit-
able spot was fixed upon and on the 16th of November 1858
a new chapel was opened, the officiating ministers being
the Revds. D. Howells, Swansea; E. Harris, Merthyr; and
D. Saunders, Aberdare.
In 1866 another church was formed at Ton, Ystrad
(Ton, Pentre now) and a new chapel – Jerusalem – was opened
In November 1867. In 1866 another cause was started
at Treherbert and on the 23rd and 24th of February 1868 Horeb
Chapel was opened. Soon after the church at Bethlehem
Treorchy was formed.
English Wesleyans. A church in connection with the
English Wesleyans was formed at Ystrad in the year 1858.
Their first chapel was built opposite Ystrad Station. This
they afterwards sold to Ystrad Co-operative Society, build-
ing another one where their present chapel stands. In the
year 1866 they established churches at Treherbert and
Tonypandy, and soon afterwards at Ferndale.
Primitive Methodists. The first and second managers of
the Bute Merthyr Collieries Treherbert were North of England men
and their advent to the neighbourhood brought with
it an influx of Englishmen from that part as well as
from Monmouthshire and Somerset. Most of these