Glamorgan first played at the St. Helen’s ground during 1890 when they met the MCC. Indeed, it became something of an annual game as at the time the other English counties were unwilling to travel the extra hour or so, each way, by steam train from Cardiff.

By this time, several improvements had taken place to the original ground, with JTD Llewelyn helping to finance the creation of a perimeter wall, as well as the construction of a small pavilion at the northern, or Bryn Road End of the ground, plus a running track which was used for various races as well as cycling events. All can be seen in the delightful image below from 1903.

The facilities were also used by the rugby club with a rugby pitch being developed to the west of the cricket pitch. The pavilion was also used by the burly rugby players and is clearly visible in the image below – also from 1903 – as well as the scorer’s box situated in the top left-hand corner of the building.

Click here to read more about the history of the ground

Click here to view the previous page about the history of St.Helen’s