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In 1804 the local Ironmasters Samuel Hopkins and Thomas
Hill built St Peter's church and donated it to the parish, along with land for
the graveyard and proceeds from a nearby farm to provide the minister's salary.
It was consecrated in June of the following year. One of the more strange conditions
of its original charter was a ban on Quakers, of which there was a strong community
in Brynmawr a few miles away (some of whom emigrated to Pennsylvania and founded
another Bryn Mawr there). Blaenafon being an 'iron' town, it was natural that
the church would feature much cast iron in its construction - the door and window
frames, and so on. But St Peter's goes further with a cast iron font, thought
to be unique, and the cast iron tombstone covers you can see in the picture would
certainly stop anyone getting in - or out! |
