St John's Church, Dowlais  St John's Church is a defunct Grade II listed church in the village of Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. The church was built in 1827 for local ironworks manager Sir John Josiah Guest, at a cost of £3000. It was gradually completely rebuilt later in the century, in a Gothic style, finishing with the main nave and aisle in 1893/4. Sir John (d. 1852) was buried in an iron coffin in the chancel under a red granite slab. The church finally closed in 1997 and, in early 2015, was put up for sale with an asking price of £50,000. It was subsequently earmarked for £400,000 of Welsh Government grants to support its repair and redevelopment.