William Vachell and his Mystery House

William Vachell (who was born in 1796) was a leading member of a well-known family firm of druggists in Cardiff in the nineteenth century. His father was a ships surgeon during the French Revolutionary wars and his brother Charles (and fellow druggist) became Mayor and developed houses in Charles Street (named in honour of their father).

The family prospered with William and Charles running the firm. William married in 1813 to Mellicent Thomas and they had 5 children. Sadly, Mellicent and 4 of the children died, only Frederick Charles surviving. William married a second time and had a further son. Sadly, both his new wife and new son also died.

Like many gentlemen of that time, William decided to retire from business and move to the country. We find him first in 1841, living on Waun-Treoda Farm (later of Flays Farm fame) and tenanting all of the farmland on both sides of the Merthyr Road. At that time there were no houses on Wauntreoda, just the farmhouse, its barn, Ararat Chapel, and open fields on both sides of the road.

10 years later, we find William on the 1851 census, aged 62 still living in Whitchurch, with the occupation of ‘retired druggist’. He was living with his now 23-year-old son Frederick Charles, a housekeeper and 2 other servants in a house on the Filog in the East Division of the parish, seemingly opposite the farm. And there was a different tenant in the farm house!

So, where was he living if there were no other houses?

Around this time, on the north side of the Merthyr Road a large detached house was constructed called Bryn Glas. This is shown on the OS map of 1880 set back from the road with a sweeping driveway. The sketch below gives a flavour of how Bryn Glas might have appeared in 1851, with its tree-lined carriage drive and landscaped front gardens. There seems plenty of space around the house for the pleasure garden that would come next. Was Bryn Glas built by William Vachell as his home in the census? There don’t seem to be any other candidates.

By 1880, the house was flanked on both sides by terraced houses, but 30 years earlier it was in splendid isolation. Bryn Glas is now demolished and the site is now occupied by the Retford Court flats. Are some of the big trees in the car park survivors of old Bryn Glas?

By the census in 1861, William Bedlington an engineer from Durham was living in the house with his family and no sign of William Vachell, and no sign of the extensive gardens. Maybe William Bedlington acquired the house; his family were still living there in 1891.

So, what did become of William Vachell and his son Frederick Charles? It seems that William died in 1860, before he had chance to enjoy the house, and his son went on to bigger and greater things. More of him another time.

Does anyone know any more about William Vachell, his family or about Bryn Glas?

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