Hide

Cardiff St. Mary

hide
Hide

"... Cardiff consists of the parishes of St. John the Baptist and St. Mary, the livings of which are discharged vicarages consolidated, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Llandaf, ... The church of St. John, formerly a chapel to that of St. Mary (which was a large cruciform building, with a square tower, situated near the margin of the river, at the south-western extremity of the town, and was destroyed by an inundation in 1607), is a spacious and handsome structure, in the early style of English architecture, with a lofty square embattled tower in the later style, and equally remarkable for the elegance of its design and the symmetry of its proportions. ...More" [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) by Samuel Lewis]

Hide
topup

Church History

Immediately south of the Norman borough lay a Benedictine priory founded by Robert Fitz Hamon in the 1080s. In 1221 a parochial aisle was added, and other additions were made later. In the early 17th century Speed depicted it as a cruciform buildingwith a central tower. It was then under threat of undermining by the Taff and the parish transferred to St. John's. St. Mary's collapsed c1670. Little now remains at grid reference ST155803 [From The Old Parish Churches of Gwent, Glamorgan & Gower, by Mike Salter.]
topup

Church Records

For full and up-to-date details of their holdings see the sites of Glamorgan Record Office and/or West Glamorgan Archives

This Parish was attached to Cardiff St. John from 1607 until 1842

The church is dedicated to Cardiff St. Mary and St. Stephen, is in the Benefice of Cardiff St. Mary and St. Stephen with Cardiff St. Dyfrig and St. Samson, and diocese of Llandaff. Details of the present incumbent of this benefice can be found at the Church in Wales website. The church can be located at grid reference ST186756.

Anglican Parish Registers Held at the Glamorgan Record Office, Cardiff
BaptismsMarriagesBurialsBannsBishops Transcripts
1843-19321847-19231848-1918--

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

  • St. Mary Ecclesiastical Parish records     "The first parish church of Cardiff, which was dedicated to St. Mary, was founded by Robert Fitzhammon and situated on the banks of the river Taff in the late 11th century. ........................When St. Mary's church was badly damaged by floods in 1607, the parish was attached to St. John in the centre of the town, until its re-establishment as a separate parish in 1849 after a new site in Bute Street for St. Mary's Church was donated by Lord Bute......"
    ".......... including registers of baptisms, 1843-1993; marriages, 1855-1971; banns, 1902-1910; burials, 1848-1918; services, 1884-1922; miscellaneous and civil records, 1903-1914"
topup

Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Cardiff St. Mary which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

topup

Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference ST186756 (Lat/Lon: 51.473484, -3.17339), Cardiff St. Mary which are provided by: