Richard Bassett (7 November 1777 – 31 August 1852) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

cleric, thought to be the last

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

clergyman in Wales to be associated with the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Life

Bassett was born at Tresigin, near

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major () is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, South

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. After studying at

Cowbridge Grammar School Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by Cowbridge Comprehensive School. Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling, 1st Baronet, Sir John Stradling and refounde ...

, Bassett went to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

matriculating Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in 1797, but never graduating. He was ordained deacon in 1801 and priest in 1802, becoming

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

St Athan St Athan () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated t ...

and

Llandow Llandow () is a village and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 726. The village is located south west of Cardiff. The community includ ...

in Glamorgan; in all, he spent over thirty years as a curate. In 1832, he became rector of

Eglwys Brewis Eglwys Brewis () is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is located just to the north of the village of St Athan, south of Flemingston and northeast of Llantwit Major. Greenlands, Vale of Glamorgan, Greenlands and St Mary Church, ...

and, in 1843,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Colwinston Colwinston (historically sometimes Colwinstone; ) is both a village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately southeast of the centre of Bridgend and west of the centre of Cardiff. The village is located within of the A48 ...

. Bassett was friends with the evangelical cleric William Howels, and through him met the Methodist cleric David Jones of Llangan. Bassett attended Methodist meetings and associations and was a trustee of a Methodist chapel in Glamorgan, but managed to retain his position in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

until his death in Colwinston on 31 August 1852. He was probably the last Anglican clergyman in Wales to be associated in such a way with the Methodists.

References

1777 births 1852 deaths Welsh Methodists Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests People educated at Cowbridge Grammar School {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub