Built from local Cefn sandstone on land donated by Sir W.W. Wynn of Wynstay, Ruabon, the Church of St John was completed around 1837 and dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The building is situated in a fairly central position in Rhosymedre and was designed by Edward Welch to a traditional cruciform plan with low pitched slate roofs and corner pinnacles. Other exterior features include a porch to the west with a saddle-back bell-cote above, elegant, fairly simple round-top arched windows and similarly shaped doorways.

The interior contains a reredos composed of green and brown lustre tiles embossed with vine, which was made and presented by `the members of this Church and St. Pauls, Acrefair, employed in Trefynant Tile Works, July 1906?. The floors of the sanctuary and the chancel have medieval-style encaustic tiles and there are two stained glass windows. The east window depicts the ascension by Done & Davies of Carlisle, paid for by public subscription in 1867, and the window in the north transept, called `The Way, The Truth and The Life,? was dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria on the 6th July 1902.

Sources:
Cefn Mawr and District: Understanding Urban Character.
Ifor Edwards, Cefn-Mawr in old picture postcards (European Library ? Zaltbommel, Netherlands, 1989).
http://parish.churchinwales.org.uk/a080/history-en/saint-johns-church-rhosymedre-history/

Laura Vernon, RCAHMW. 02/04/2014.