The church was built as a memorial by retired magistrate Maynard Mathew, whose son Llandaff died while saving eight miners from a coalmine accident at the Burnside Colliery in KwaZulu-Natal on 19 March 1925. Also called the Llandaff Oratory, the 8 seats within the church are representative of these miners. In active use to a portion of the wider Van Reenen community, the church performs a commemorative function to the remaining Matthews family.