Inside St Matthew's Church is a soaring, light-filled space lined with stone columns. Arched windows along the stone walls fill the room with sunlight beneath an elegant, vaulted wooden ceiling. Yet the airy, empty interior belies the fact that the glass in those windows has been smashed by vandals and the building is being claimed by a vast carpet of ivy that hangs over the surrounding pavements and has made it a favourite of photographers and urban explorers but the despair of people living nearby who fear it has been deliberately allowed to fall into disrepair.
St Matthews is in the midst of a warren of streets in Trallwn, Pontypridd , where it is both a curiosity and a frustration. Built in 1907, the 116-year-old church has no protection as a listed building despite locals’ attempts to see the impressive building recognised. It has had a succession of owners over the last 20 years; has had planning permission for redevelopment approved on more than one occasion, and yet has remained at the mercy of the elements.
Read more: Arrests after three people on a moped 'tried to rob a JustEat driver's motorbike' Read more: Pier left blackened after blaze that shut the attraction When we visited this week locals complained of the unruly state of the church and the accompanying land attracting rodents. “I’m surprised the building is still standing,” one neighbour said. “You can see the ivy growing into the building.
It doesn't look good. "It was once a very popular church .