St Anne's Church, Ynyshir

St Anne’s Church stands in the Rhondda Valley village of Ynyshir, a building of the 1880s designed by E. M. Bruce Vaughan. It occupies a quiet spot beside the Ynyshir Cenotaph, where First World War remembrance services are still held. The church has no clerestory, so its roof slopes straight down to the walls. Inside, statues of famous preachers line the nave, and a 1907 Harrison & Harrison organ fills the chancel with sound. A small hall behind the church once served as a polling station and now holds a war memorial. The church’s windows tell part of its story. The west window dates from 1905, while the rest were finished in 1886. In 2014 the congregation marked the centenary of the First World War with a service partly held at the cenotaph. The building closed in March 2017 when its priest, Fr Paul Bigmore, retired. Even in quiet times the place remains a focus for local memory. Visitors find a plain stone church with a steep slate roof and simple lancet windows. The interior feels intimate, the organ case standing close to the east wall. Statues of preachers stand along the north and south sides of the nave. The small hall behind the church keeps the names of those lost in war. Outside, the cenotaph is a short walk away, a place for quiet reflection.