The 1841 census records shows us that Church
Village's history as a community doesn't extend much beyond
the middle of the nineteenth century. They indicate that
the village only consisted of a carpenter's dwelling place
and two buildings or uninhabited houses. According to the
1846 tithe map these buildings were located at the crossroads
of the Tonteg to Llantrisant and Llantwit Fardre to Efail
Isaf roads. During the next ten years, Church Village not
only witnessed considerable development but also a change
of name.
It was known as Cross Inn on the 1851 census and remained
so until the end of the nineteenth century. The census also
shows that the village had a total population of 91 in 14
households including a victualler, dressmaker, butcher, draper
and grocer and schoolmaster. Significantly, 24 miners and
2 coal contractors are recorded as village inhabitants. Small
levels and pits such as Dyhewid Colliery were beginning to
appear around the village. Clearly, the growth of the local
mining industry was having an impact on Cross Inn's growth
and development.
The main road Church Village
The following decade saw the beginnings of religious
and educational institutions. A school was held in the
stables near Tir Bach farm on the village's fringes. Later
the school moved to a long room behind the village's public
house, the Cross Inn. This room was also the venue of Welsh
Baptists until a chapel was built in 1854 about a mile
further at Gwaun Y Celyn. New Inn's population increase
was more gradual during the 1860s. The 1861 census shows
a total population of 11 living in 22 households
