Rowland Williams (bapt. 27 March 1779 – 28 December 1854) was a Welsh

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 ...

priest and writer.

Life

Williams, from

Mallwyd Mallwyd () is a small village at the most southern end of Gwynedd, Wales, in the Mawddwy community, in the valley of the River Dyfi. It lies on the A470 approximately halfway between Dolgellau and Machynlleth, and forms the junction of the A ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, Wales, was baptised on 27 March 1779. After being taught at a school in the local church and by the

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 ...

Betws-yn-Rhos is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Betws yn Rhos is located about inland between the coastal towns of Abergele and Colwyn Bay. Until 1974, it was part of Denbighshire, but subsequent local government reorganisations s ...

, he attended

Ruthin School Ruthin School is a private day and boarding school located on the outskirts of Ruthin, the county town of Denbighshire, North Wales. It is over seven hundred years old, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. Originally a sch ...

and then (from 1798 to 1802)

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 ...

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1802 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1805. After his ordination in 1802 by John Randolph,

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

, he was an usher at

Friars School, Bangor is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and the second oldest extant school in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A friary had be ...

and also curate of

Llandygai Llandygai (, ; ; also Llandegai) is a small village and Community (Wales), community on the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road between Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor and Talybont, Bangor, Talybont in Gwynedd, Wales. It affords a view of the nearby Car ...

. He then held other parish appointments in north Wales from 1807 as vicar of

Cilcain Cilcain is a village and community, near Mold, in Flintshire, north-east Wales. The village has an industrial history and includes the Millennium Woods, a post office, a public house, a parish church, a primary school (Ysgol y Foel) and a villa ...

, vicar of

Halkyn Halkyn ( ; locally: ) is a village and community in Flintshire, north-east Wales and situated between Pentre Halkyn, Northop and Rhosesmor. At the 2001 Census the population of the community was 2,876, increasing slightly to 2,879 at the 20 ...

, vicar of

Meifod Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village, Community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and loca ...

and, from 1836 until his death, vicar of

Ysceifiog Ysceifiog, also spelled as Ysgeifiog, is a village and community in Flintshire, Wales. It lies on a back road just north of the A541 highway between Nannerch and Caerwys. The name translates roughly as "a place where elder trees grow".

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

. Williams was an enthusiast for Welsh literature and regarded as an authority on the Welsh language. He was involved in literature for the Welsh Anglican church, such as the revision of the Welsh

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

. He contributed to various church magazines and published sermons. He was married with three sons (including the theologian Rowland Williams) and five daughters. He died on 28 December 1854.

St Asaph Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saints Asaph and Cyndeyrn, commonly called St Asaph Cathedral (), is a cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedral dates back 1,400 years, while t ...

contains a memorial window for him at the west end of the building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Rowland 1779 births 1854 deaths 19th-century Welsh Anglican priests People educated at Ruthin School Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Mallwyd