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St. Mary's Church Caerau-with-Ely, Cardiff

By the Reverend Victor Jones

I was ordained in 1955 by the Archbishop of Wales, the Right Reverend John Morgan, in St. Dyfrig's Church, Cardiff. I served for two years as a Curate in St. Luke's Church, Canton with Father John Read. I was then asked by the Archbishop if I would go to Ely where a new church was to be opened on the new housing estate on what was once the Ely Racecourse. It was to be a dual purpose building, a church-cum-hall. It took only a week to construct and when finished it looked like a Nissen Hut. I was told that I could choose its name, so I chose St. Timothy as he was a young man and the parish was full of young people. My wife, Margaret and my baby daughter Ruth, moved into 96 Heol Carnau in September and we stayed for a little under five years.

The name of the parish was Caerau-with-Ely, and on the hill on the outskirts of the parish stood the old parish church of St. Mary's, next to a Roman Camp and an Iron-Age Fort. In 1957, before my arrival in Ely, the church of St. Mary was officially closed down, deconsecrated, the roof taken off, and left to the mercy of the elements, the vandals of Ely, and the mercy of God.

Young people helping with the rebuilding.

I was very busy at St. Timothy's. On the first Sunday the 8 o'clock Communion Service was packed with over 200 people, and the first Sunday School later in the day with even more children. For two years we struggled on trying to cope with the large and increasing numbers. There were nearly 50 Confirmation Candidates each year, most teenagers. Sometimes the Bishop of Llandaff, the Right Reverend Glyn Simon, would come to assist with the chalice at the 8 o'clock service, and stay for breakfast. The parishioners had come to Ely from every part of Cardiff that had been blitzed during the war. St. Timothy's became the only focal point to bring them together. It was clear to me that another church was needed and I put it to the Bishop. His reply was, "You have not yet finished paying for this one, they cost £10,000 each." One day I walked up to the old church on the hill and took with me Mr. Charles Jewell, a Server and Sidesman in St. Tim's, and a bus driver for Cardiff Corporation. The vandals had been very busy and in one place the wall had been pulled down almost to the ground. A huge hole in the tower wall showed where thieves had broken in and stolen the bronze bell. It looked a ruin and a mess, but the amazing thing was that the old Communion Rail, made of wood and wrought iron, was still in place. I knelt at the rail and Charles Jewell did also. We prayed in silence, and when we got up I knew what I was going to do, rebuild the church around this Communion Rail.

You can read the rest of Father Jones' account in our book.