In St. Michael's Church is a plaque which reads:

Sacred to the memory of Capt. William Pryce Cumby R.H. – C.B.
Who died at Pembroke Capt. Superintendent of the naval arsenal and in
Command of the royal sovereign yacht.
XXVII Sept. MDCCCXXXVII aged LXVI.
In the Battle of Trafalgar. Where at the early period of the engagement he
Succeeded command of the Bellerophon of 74 guns which was then opposed
In the hottest of the action to a superior force being in contact with the
French ship L’aigle closely engaged with the Spanish ship El Monarca
and exposed to the fire of several other ships of the enemys line he nobly
maintained the unequal contest displaying in this critical position a skill and
valour worthy of this eventful day and animating by his example the
victorious efforts of his gallant crew at the capture of the city of St.Domingo.
He acquired additional distinction by the great ability with which he
conducted the operations of the naval force and by his humanity of the
vanquished on their surrender to the British arms. In his profession his
considerate care for the comforts of those under his command secured to him
the service of attached hearts. In private life his cheerful temper and social
kindness endeared him to all classes in and around this village where his
virtues and unaffected piety diffused the calm enjoyment of domestic peace
over his happy home.

(The Latin date translates as 27th September 1837 aged 66)

The leaflet on the history of the Church includes the following:-

To the left of the altar is a monument honouring a village hero of the 19th Century. William Pryce Cumby R.N. C.B. was the orphan grandson of William Jepson, a Churchwarden. He grew up in Heighington but as an eight year old he went to sea as a servant to his uncle, Lieutenant Anthony Jepson. After varied service on the lower deck during the Napoleonic War he became a Lieutenant and in the Battle of Trafalgar he succeeded to the command of HMS Bellerophon on the death of her captain. He was promoted to Captain for his gallantry at Trafalgar and went on to command HMS Polyphemus and also the squadron blockading San Domingo (Haiti), which was captured in 1809. In 1811 Cumby transferred to the frigate Hyperion and captained her for the next four years. Britain was still at war with France and also with the USA from 1812; Cumby’s task was the protection of British shipping and the interception of enemy traders.

Cumby’s first wife Anne died in January 1815, He returned to Heighington in October 1815 and remarried in December 1818. He invested his naval prize money in three local farms, became a distinguished local gentleman and built Trafalgar House in about 1834. (This still stands in Station Road). He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the Coronation honours of William IV. In 1837 he was appointed Superintendent of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Pembroke Dock. He went to live there but soon died and was buried there later that year. The Memorial was a tribute from his brother officers.

The two carved chairs in the sanctuary were made from timbers of the Bellerophon after she was broken up. Cumby’s descendants, who kept their connection with Trafalgar House, and the village, until 1975, gave them to the Church.

Acknowledgments: Peter Wellings, church warden