History
The Church of St John the Baptist, Alltwen, (to give the building its proper title) is a daughter church of
Cilybebyll. It was built during the last century at a time when Alltwen and Pontardawe were growing industrial communities. The foundation stone of the church was laid on 24 June, 1886 by Howell Gwyn, the landowner and industrialist. The church was opened later that year. The pipe organ was installed in 1887. The instrument was paid for by Public Subscription. The church seats about two hundred and fifty people and is built in the Victorian Style common to many of the churches built in this period in South Wales.
A school house (the Gwyn Hall) on Alltwen Triangle was erected by Mrs. Howell Gwyn, seven years later, in 1893, to hold the Sunday School and for social events.
In 2005 the PCC did a disability survey on the church and found
it would be very difficult to cater for disabled people at the
church. The church also needed a massive amount of repair work, so
after much heart ache and research, in 2005 the PCC voted to shut
the old Church. It has since be converted into a house. The new St
John's Church was a redesign and extension of the Gwyn Hall.
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