CF10 Rugby Trust

In my early years of supporting Cardiff, I remember walking to the ground on match-days and, as I walked down Quay Street, seeing the magnificent gates in memory of the great Cardiff player Erith Gwyn Nicholls.

Nowadays, many of the people that visit the Arms Park for a game know little of the gates and even less of Gwyn Nicholls.

First, the man – Erith Gwyn Nicholls was born in Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire in 1874. Known as the ” Prince of Three-quarters” Nicholls played 242 games for Cardiff between 1892 and 1910, scoring 111 tries (including four in a game against Cardiff & District). During his time at the Arms Park he was captain for four seasons and gained 24 caps for Wales (being captain on 10 occasions) – this was of course, a time when Wales only played three games a season rather than the dozen or so that are in the present day calendar. He also represented the Barbarians and was a member of the British Lions team that toured Australia in 1899. When the team returned to the UK it was without a certain Gwyn Nicholls who had decided to make the most of the opportunity to visit the other side of the world and stayed in Australia for some months after the remainder of the tourists had returned home.

Nichols went into business with his good friend, the Cardiff full-back Herbert Winfield. They ran laundry services for hospitals in the area and later expanded into a commercial dry-cleaning company. Many older Cardiff residents will well remember availing themselves of the cleaning services of Messrs Gwyn Nicholls & Winfield.

Gwyn Nicholls passed away in March 1939, just before the start of the Second World War. Once the war was over and ‘normal’ service was resumed a collection was made to remember the life and rugby legacy of the great man. A pair of magnificent gates were erected at the entrance to the Arms Park ground at the bottom of Quay Street. Cardiff, of course, used to play on what is now the Principality Stadium, but in 1970 when the National Stadium was built the gates were relocated and later moved to their current location at the entrance to the ground opposite the Angel Hotel. Sadly, as they are located at the entrance to a busy car park the gates are always open and never seen in their full, imposing, glory. Even more tragically, the plaque commemorating Gwyn Nicholls is on the gate that is always left open and few passers-by give it a second glance.

If you visit the Cardiff Rugby Museum you can see the gates at the entrance to the ground opposite the Angel Hotel – make sure to look at both the gates. Within the museum, in Cardiff Athletic Club, you will see a gold key – presented to the club when the gates were officially opened by Rhys Gabe (a former team mate of Nicholls) on December 26^th1949.

Perhaps when the Arms Park is modernised the Gwyn Nicholls gates will be moved back to a place of honour in the ground where they will be a fitting memorial to one of (if not the) greatest player to ever wear the Cambridge Blue and Black hoops of Cardiff Rugby Football Club.

Viv Jones