Our Story
History in 26 Objects
Seven centuries of faith, community, and heritage
St Nicholas Church’s story stretches from Norman times to the present day. Explore it through 25 objects, from the building itself to the stained glass, interior furnishings, the Tyler memorials, and the church’s newest chapter.
Objects 1–5
From the Outside
Object 1
St Nicholas Church
Built of limestone in the Late Decorated passing into Perpendicular style in the early C13th, most probably late in the reign of Henry III the longest serving mediaeval monarch (57yrs), with the tower added a few years later. The Lady Chapel, originally constructed in the C15th had its south wall rebuilt in 1803. The interior was totally restored in 1860 by John Pritchard and John Seddon who, consecutively, were the Llandaff Diocesan Architects from 1847. The cost of £1200 was defrayed by John Bruce Pryce of Dyffryn. Pritchard was responsible for the restoration of Llandaff Cathedral from 1843-1869. The Church was listed Grade II* in 1963. The roof was replaced in 2017.
Object 2
The Tower
Befitting St Nicholas as the Patron Saint of Seamen, the lofty church tower, one of the high points of The Vale, is reputed to have acted in the past as a navigation point for seafarers in the Bristol Channel. At the base of the south wall is an Ordnance Survey Benchmark for 119.93 mtrs( 393ft). The top of the tower might be nearly 145mtrs(475ft).
Object 3
The Lychgate
Unfortunately having to be demolished in 2024 the lychgate was for nearly 150 years the place where the priest first prayed for the deceased before their coffin was carried into the church. It was thought to be designed by Pritchard and Seddon with vertical supports of oak sustaining a Welsh slate roof and contemporary with the C19th church restoration. New Victorian replica gates are to be installed.
Object 4
The Cory Memorial
This is dedicated to John and Anna Cory, their son Clifford and daughter Florence of Dyffryn House (now a National Trust property and garden). It is Grade II listed for its historical interest. Cory was a mine and ship-owner supplying coal to bunker ports world-wide. Anna donated the money for the Village Hall, a place where temperance was to be observed. Public houses there were to be none! Both were Methodists. John's brother Reginald was an internationally recognised horticulturalist and one of the originators of the Chelsea Flower Show. He was an important figure in the garden village movement.
Object 5
Ernest Gwyther White Grave
Not infrequently gravestones feature a line from a popular song of the day or the distant past. Sometimes there will be a bar or two of random notes on a musical stave. Less often again a popular composer from this or earlier centuries will be quoted. Rarely is there one bar of musical chords waiting to be identified. So, where exactly do the chords on the White gravestone originate from? Let us know if you know!
Objects 6–9
The Stained Glass
Object 6
The East Window, The Crucifixion
Erected in 1860 as a memorial to Sarah (d.1842), wife of John Bruce Price of Dyffryn the centre light depicts the Crucifixion. To the left three maidens receive dowries from St Nicholas. The right shows St Nicholas together with St Martin who is giving a coat to a beggar.
Object 7
The West Window, St Peter and St John
Situated in the tower, and of modern perpendicular design, this depicts St Peter and St John. It is dedicated to John Bruce Pryce of Duffryn who died in 1872, the patron of the 1860 restoration. It was designed by Messrs. Clayton & Bell, London
Object 8
The Cule Window
On the south wall this Tree of Life window, designed by Gareth Morgan of Llanelli and installed in 1992, is dedicated to the memory of Dudley George Cule, former Church Warden and long time faithful servant to the church.
Object 9
The Lady Chapel Window, St Phillip and St Michael
On the south wall near the memorial tablets erected by Ada Tyler is a stained glass window, one of two, installed at her behest in 1924. On the left: St Phillip (Patron Saint of fisherman and pastry chefs), On the right: St Michael (Patron Saint of the sick and suffering, and the military).
Objects 10–16
Around the Interior
Object 10
The Font
The eight-sided bowl (marking the Day of Eternity) and the octagonal column go back to the 13th Century. But what have been thought to be Masonic marks on the base are from pre-Reformation times and let Protestants entering the church know there were those of like persuasion who, if they were caught, would help them fight a charge of hypocrisy. Later again, on the 7th May 1648, during the English Civil War, Royalist troops camped in the church overnight preparing for combat against a Parliamentarian army which prevailed the next day at the nearby Battle of St Fagan's - the biggest ever in Wales. Evidence of their presence is shown by the damage to the plinth where it has been reported soldiers fired shots from their muskets into the stonework. Earlier, in 1403, before the Battle of Stalling Down, a few miles away at St Hilary, it is claimed Owain Glyndwyr's troops sheltered in the church and sharpened their battle axes on the base of the font before routing HenryIV's English army.
Object 11
The Pulpit
Of stone with short marble shafts alternating with columns, this was a gift in 1880 from Mrs Ella Mackintosh of Mackintosh of nearby Cottrell. It was intended to replace an ancient pulpit on the north side but proved too large and was installed on the south instead, an unusual position for a pulpit. It has a wrought iron book rest.
Object 12
The Whiteside Commemoration
Lieut. Miles Whiteside served as a soldier in the Highland Light Infantry and as a member of the fledgling Royal Flying Corps which, after the 1st April 1918, became the Royal Air Force. He died in an aero accident at St Albans in June 1918, aged twenty-three. Born in the St Nicholas Rectory his father was the donor of the church lectern - an eagle sculpted from oak with the inscription 'To the memory of God presented by the Revd. M. Whiteside 1890.'
Object 13
The Victorian Lighting
Controlled by pulleys and cast iron counterweights this lighting was installed during the 1860 renovation. It would have benefitted from the supply of paraffin imported from Pennsylvania following the discovery of oil in 1850. The eight lamps, four in the nave and four in the chancel, would have been raised when not required and lowered for refuelling before being set at a height to achieve maximum diffusion. That's the Victorians for you! Adaptation to electricity possibly came as late as the 1930s when the National Grid made it more widely available in rural areas.
Object 14
The Organ
Acknowledged by organ historians to be an extremely rare and unusual instrument commissioned from a little known firm, J S Dane and Sons of Swansea, Appointed Organ Builders to the Government by the Admiralty in 1868. Installed in 1875, Dane only built two others. One has been destroyed, the other modified beyond recognition.
Object 15
The Church Plate
Of significance are two items both given to the church in the time of the Protestant William and Mary who had succeeded Catholic King James II after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The silver chalice and paten were assayed in 1698 and presented by Mrs Barbara Button.
Object 16
The Church Registers
Though the originals are in the Glamorgan Archives, bound copies are kept in a strong box thought to date back to the 1830s. Marriage records are available from 1755-1930, baptisms between 1755 and 1966, together with burials from 1813-1966. Searches in the Registers can be provided for a fee.
Objects 17–23
The Tyler Memorials
Object 17
Sir Charles Tyler of Cottrell, Admiral at Trafalgar
Placed high on the north wall of the Lady Chapel this white marble tablet is in memory of Sir Charles who commanded HMS Tonnant at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 under Lord Nelson. He was among 50 officers and men to be wounded, along with 26 who died. He was awarded a pension of £250 per year, a £100 Sword of Honour from the Patriotic Fund, and given the thanks of Parliament. Nelson included Charles in his "Band of Brothers"
Object 18
Ada Tyler's Memorial Tablets
By 1924 Ada Tyler had lost Roper, her son, through his WWI bravery in 1915, and her husband Trevor, a veteran of many army-supported British colonial endeavours, in 1923. A tablet on the south wall records as wife and mother her erection of marble tablets surmounted by two swords.
Object 19
Major General Trevor Bruce Tyler
Joining the army in 1859, by 1866 Trevor was in Canada, a British Colony, repelling the Fenian Raids from America. In 1893 he transferred to the Indian Army, retiring ten years later. He was awarded the Companion of the Most Exalted Star of India, the fifth most senior in the orders of chivalry after the Order of the Bath. His memorial bears the epitaph: "He left a beautiful name behind him."
Object 20
Lieutenant Roper Maxwell Tyler
High above the wall mounted tablets is his original grave cross from the cemetery in Euskirchen in North Rhine Westphalia. Roper was one of only three Commonwealth soldiers in that graveyard, buried alongside two Indian Army personnel following a battle on 20th December 1918. He died in a Field Ambulance on the 26th February 1919. His family later commissioned a gravestone at Southern Cemetery in Cologne bearing the Durham Light Infantry badge.
Object 21
Major General Trevor Bruce Tyler's Medals
Trevor Bruce Tyler's medal collection includes the Canada General Service Medal (Fenian Raid 1866), the Delhi Durbar Medal (1903), the Companion of the Star of India, and the Civil Order of the Bath. These honours represent a distinguished military career spanning service in Canada, India, Burma, and Aden. The medals are held by the church but are not currently on public display.
Object 22
Lieutenant Roper Maxwell Tyler's Medals
Roper Maxwell Tyler's medals include the Distinguished Service Order, the Croix de Guerre, the Legion d'Honneur, the Great War for Civilisation medal (1914-1919), and the WW1 George V Defence Medal (1914-18). Together they represent the extraordinary courage of a brave and highly decorated career soldier. The medals are held by the church but are not currently on public display.
Object 23
The Depiction of St Nicholas
The south wall features a unique representation of St Nicholas, Patron Saint of Children and Sailors, created by E. Liddall Armitage of Notting Hill, London. The image contains a characteristic unique in the 37-year experience of the Mayor of Sint-Niklaas in Belgium, one of the founders of the St Nicholas Society worldwide. Visitors are invited to identify what is distinctive about this artwork, and to consider whether Ada Tyler may have inspired the unconventional design.
Objects 24–26
Recent Times, The Harvest Congregation 2024
Object 24
The School Banner
The Banner was made in 2010 by Debbie Cuddihy, a Teaching Assistant, for Year 6 pupils to carry in the procession of Diocesan Church School Leavers held in Llandaff Cathedral each year. The hand of Christ supports the children, showing his love and protection. He is offering them up to be part of the Church family. The school and the church are to be as one for them. Originally blue and white, the green was added to represent the new uniform worn from 2024 when the children moved to the new school in the village. The Clergy visit the school, and the children and their teachers, and sometimes families too, come for regular services in the church.
Object 25
On-Pew Heating System
Used for the first time on the 6th October 2024 this net zero 220-240V system heats only the body of the people not the body of the church. Think of a heated car seat. It is possibly the first example in Wales; but is installed in nearly 100 churches in England. The running costs are about £5 for a 2 hr gathering if all 100 seats are occupied and the over-door, altar and vestry heaters are in use. Our organists will be kept warm as well and might be able to play faster pieces now with warm hands!
Object 26
The Heritage Developments
Our 'Modern Times' additions, these were funded by the National Churches Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Benefact Trust, the Church in Wales and the St Nicholas Church Committee.
Acknowledgments
Three pieces of scholarship stand out as authoritative reference material drawn upon to assist in the construction of the ‘26 Objects’ narratives:
- Charles F. Shepherd — Saint Nicholas - A Historical Survey of a Glamorganshire Parish (1934)
- Geoffrey Orrin — Medieval Churches of the Vale of Glamorgan (1988)
- Neil Walklate — St Nicholas, - A Glamorganshire Parish. A step back, (2012)
The Church in Wales Logbook, Terrier and Inventory for St Nicholas, compiled assiduously by Church Wardens Colin Llewellyn and Paul Knoyle in 2002 provided photographic records and ecclesiastical descriptors.
If further detail were needed it came from fragments of oral history provided by parishioners and other local people, many of who had a long association with the church going back through parents and grandparents.
Our thanks go to volunteer Ben Brown, a Bristol University student for the design and construction of this ‘object section’ as well as the remainder of the website. He is from the current generation of the Glover family who lived in St Nicholas for many years.
Morton Warner and Paul Knoyle, 27th June 2025
Any errors or omissions are solely ours. Please do bring them to our attention.