Our ancient church is in need of your help! The tower has some serious cracks, and water is pouring into the church. The tower needs work, and the bells are unsafe for ringing. Do you have any association with the church - any memories of wedding and baptisms, and/or relatives buried in the churchyard. If so, please help us weather-proof the tower and let the bells ring out again over the valley

St Ilan's church is in the Benefice of Eglwysilan and Caerphilly. It is an ancient parish church situated on Eglwysilan mountain. It was first mentioned in 1254, but it stands on an older Christian site - confirmed by the 8th-10th century "Warrior Stone" found in the churchyard. The walls of the nave and chancel are medieval, other details being added later, including re-building the tower in 1731. Later restorations were in 1873-5 and 1980-4.

The church is in regular use as a place of worship - weekly Sunday services, and weddings, funerals and baptisms. There are also special "seasonal" services - e.g. at Christmas and Easter. The church is open every day from 9am to 5pm for visitors, and is popular with walkers and ramblers, being on an old pilgrim way, and part of the Cistercian Way project. The churchyard is still open for new interments.

In 2017, work was completed on the most urgent repair - namely a hole in the roof, which was allowing ingress of water, birds and animals. The next phase of urgency, for which we are now seeking assistance, is the work required on the tower, which is leaking badly as a result of cracks in all four faces and damage to the lead flashings, masonry and pointing, including the bell frame and louvres. We would ideally like to start on this work before the winter, so please help us, if you can