Fagan's, St. - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
FAGAN'S, ST., a parish, in the union of Cardiff, hundred of Dinas-Powys, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from Cardiff; containing 424 inhabitants. This parish takes its name from the saint to whom its church is dedicated, and who, according to the traditional testimony on the subject, arrived in Britain about the year 180, to preach the doctrines of the Christian religion, and founded the church here, which has been consequently regarded as one of the earliest Christian establishments in the island. In later times, St. Fagan's became celebrated as the scene of a sanguinary battle between the recreant leaders of the parliamentary forces in the principality, and Colonel Horton, who was sent by Cromwell, with a small army, to enforce the order for disbanding them. The former, among whom were Major-Generals Stradling and Laugharne, having embraced the cause of royalty, contrived to keep their forces under arms, and to augment their number by fresh recruits of such as were favourable to the king; and having increased their army to 8000 men, they confidently advanced to meet Colonel Horton, who had stationed his forces at St. Fagan's. The battle was fought on the 8th of May, 1648, and terminated in the defeat of the Welsh troops with great slaughter, and the capture of many of their principal officers. Among the slain, on the part of the Welsh, were sixty-five of this parish alone; and in the ensuing harvest, so great was the scarcity of labourers, that the crops were chiefly cut and gathered by women. This victory was considered by the parliament to be of such importance, that a day of public thanksgiving was appointed on the occasion. The village, which is situated on the river Ely, a stream abounding with trout and other fish, has a very prepossessing appearance; it lies on a substratum of limestone, and is abundantly supplied with excellent water. Plenty of coal is found within five miles of the place, and it is supplied at a moderate price to the limeworks in the parish. The great South Wales railway will pass through St. Fagan's.
The living is a rectory, with the chapelry of Llanilterne annexed, rated in the king's books at �14. 9. 7.; patron, Earl Amherst: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of �383, with a glebe of seventy-four acres, valued at �110 per annum, and a good parsonage-house, built in 1795, by the incumbent. The church is a very neat edifice, in excellent repair. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, with a Sunday school held in it. In connexion with the Established Church are two day and Sunday schools, one of which, taught by a master and his wife, is under the patronage of Lady Harriet Clive, of Oakley Park, Salop; the mistress of the other receives an endowment of �2. 10. per annum, arising from the remaining half of a gift of �100 by the Rev. John Cook in 1729: both schools were commenced in 1846. The only charitable bequest for distribution among the poor, consists of a grant of �10 by William Horton for the benefit of ten widows, which, with �5 accumulated interest, was invested some years since in the Cardiff savings' bank: the interest is distributed according to the intentions of the donor. Of another gift of �5 by Mary Williams nothing is now known. There is an ancient castellated mansion, formerly belonging to the family of Lewis, the heiress of which conveyed it by marriage, together with a large estate in this county, to a late Earl of Plymouth; it is still habitable, and is now appropriated to the use of Lady Harriet Clive's school, and as a residence for the master's family. |
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