Resolven Rugby Football Club was founded in 1885 and first played on Tan-y-rhiw field. The pitch that was used by the club changed on several occasions over the years. Drehir, where they played between the two World Wars, was used as a site for a munitions factory during the Second World War, leaving the club without a playing field at the end of the war.
Resolven RFC returned to Tan-y-rhiw in 1946 and freehold property of the field was donated to the club by the Vaughan family of Rheola in 1954. Thereafter, the field was renamed the Vaughan Rugby Ground.