Our Lady of Penrhys, Ferndale

History

During the 20th Century, there existed a parish dedicated to Our Lady of Penrhys in Ferndale, with a church of the same name at Oakland Terrace, Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf CF43 4UD. The Taking Stock website notes that construction of the church was paid for by Miss M. M. Davies of Danygraig House, Llantrisant.

Often, a parish is legally established before the Parish Church is opened, with Mass celebrated in a temporary location. The first entries in registers for this parish were made in 1910. We still hold registers which record a funeral in October 1910, and a marriage in April 1911 (our Baptism Register for 1910-1920 has been deposited for digitisation). The official listed building record and a newspaper clipping (seen but not recorded) indicate that the church itself opened in 1912.

A priest from Ferndale also served Ynyshir, where the church of St Mary Magdalene was built in 1929 and established as a separate parish in 1932.

From 1974, the same parish priest served Treorchy and Ferndale. In 1994, the Treorchy registers started being used for Ferndale parishioners and the Ferndale Marriage and Funeral registers were discontinued, though the Ferndale Baptism Register continued in use until the formal amalgamation of Ferndale with Treorchy and Tonypandy on 6 August 2001. The Baptism Register has greater significance in Canon Law, being the place where freedom to marry (or enter religious life or holy orders) is verified. It is likely that a presbytery in Ferndale also passed out of church hands after 1974.

Sadly, in the first decade of the 2000s it became apparent that it was unaffordable to run 4 Catholic Churches in the Rhondda Valleys. The last Mass was celebrated there in 2010; then the site was sold for redevelopment and the funds were used to assist with the re-ordering of Ss Gabriel & Raphael Church in Tonypandy.

The former church, which is Grade II Listed, has now been converted into a private dwelling.

Priests

Based on our sacramental registers, the following priests were serving the parish and can be assumed to have been the Parish Priest:

  • 1910-21 William Morgan
  • 1922-25 Eugene O’Reilly
  • 1927-28 Edward James
  • 1929-32 David O’Keefe
  • 1932-36 Patrick Hart
  • 1936-40 Patrick Gibbons
  • 1941-42 Patrick Coleman
  • 1943-46 William Joseph Skelly
  • 1947-50 M. K. O’Rourke
  • 1953-59 G. Murray
  • 1960-63 Paul Chidgey
  • 1964-67 John Rohan
  • 1967-74 Roger McDonagh

From October 1974, Ferndale was served by the same parish priest as Treorchy.

  • 1974-79 Frank Slater
  • 1979-88 Michael Hegarty
  • 1989-93 John Griffiths
  • 1993-94 Eddie O’Connell
  • 1994-95 Marshall Gibbs
  • 1996-2000 Clive Loosemore

Ferndale then became part of the unified Rhondda Parish on 6 August 2001 and was served by:

  • 2001-06 Mark Rowles
  • 2007-08 was marked by a brief experiment with a team ministry serving the Rhondda Parish alongside Treforest and Caerphilly: Priests John Griffiths, David O’Donnell and Gareth Leyshon, with deacons Geoff Beach and Mel Morrissey.
  • 2008-12 David O’Donnell
  • 2012-14 Silvio Briffa
  • 2014-16 Tadeusz Rutkowski
  • 2016-22 No parish priest – pastoral care led by Sr Berenice O’Dwyer SSJA
  • 2023-     Gareth Leyshon (resident outside the parish, pastoral care still led by Sr Berenice

Registers

Registers for Sacraments and Funerals celebrated at Ferndale are now held at Ss Gabriel & Raphael Church in Tonypandy. On 6 August 2001, the Ferndale and Treorchy parishes were joined to Tonypandy to form The Rhondda Parish and new registers at Tonypandy were started for the combined parish.

Registers we hold are as follows:

  • Ferndale Baptism Register (B1.3): 30 May 1920 – 9 November 1946
  • Ferndale Baptism Register (B1.6): 14 August 1946 – 3 June 2001
  • Ferndale Confirmation Register (C2): 10 May 1914 – 4 May 1990 (after which the Treorchy or Tonypandy Register was used)
  • Ferndale Marriage Register (M1.1): April 1911 – 11 June 1994 (after which the Treorchy register was used until the merger in 2001).
  • Ferndale Funeral Register (D1.1): October 1910 – 16 December 1994 (after which the Treorchy register was used until the merger in 2001)

Registers which were closed more than 100 years ago are often deposited elsewhere. We have not verified the locations of our past registers but you may have success at the Glamorgan Country Records Office or the Archdiocese of Cardiff Archive.