Saint Winifreds Church was built in 1883. Before this, there was only one church in the area which was Saint Gwynno’s in Llanwonno. It was built because the church in Llanwonno was no longer big enough to accommodate all the parishioners. Many people had moved to the area to work in the coal pits, so houses and schools had to be built on what was previously fields and trees.
St. Winifred’s was originally only built to the archways. A loan of £100 was given to begin building the church in 1882. This was given by the Incorporated Church Building Society. The work was completed for the church to finally open to its parishioners on December 18th, 1883.
Every year, a service is held on that date to commemorate the opening.
Two more grants were awarded to the church. In 1888, a grant of £40 was used to extend from the arches and add an extra side. In 1911, £30 was used to extend the back of the church. The original intention was to make the two sides of the church the same, but they ran out of money.
Many people donate presents to the church in memory of loved ones who have died. Possibly the largest of these dedications is the stained glass window at the back of the church. It was given in memory of Richard Bevan, of the Lee Hotel in May 1908.

The church was always the centre of the community. It was used for many social events and groups. The annual Sunday School day trip was very often the only chance many children had to visit the sea-side. Sunday School parties were also very popular! However, over the last fifty or so years, there have been many changes and developments in our society. Entertainment can be found all around us, and we don’t even have to leave our houses if we don’t want to - many have computers, play stations and videos, and most of us have televisions. The fact that many societies continue to use the church hall shows the strong community spirit which still exists in Penrhiwceiber. The Mothers’ Union, Brownies, Girl Guides, Rainbows, dancing, Bingo and youth club are to mention a few.