Howell Harris ( cy, Howel Harris, italic=no; 23 January 1714 – 21 July 1773) was a
Calvinistic Methodist
Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...
evangelist. He was one of the main leaders of the
Welsh Methodist revival
The Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Daniel Rowland, William Williams and Howell Harris were heavily influential in the movement. The ...
in the 18th century, along with
Daniel Rowland and
William Williams Pantycelyn
William Williams, Pantycelyn (c. 11 February 1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn, and Pantycelyn, is generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures of Wale ...
.
Life
Harris was born at
Trefeca
Trefeca (also Trefecca, Trevecca, and Trevecka), located between Talgarth and Llangorse Lake in what is now south Powys in Wales, was the birthplace and home of the 18th-century Methodist leader Howell Harris ( cy, Hywel Harris, italic=no). It was ...
, near
Talgarth
Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and a ...
in
Brecknockshire
, image_flag=
, HQ= Brecon
, Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974)
, Origin= Brycheiniog
, Status=
, Start= 1535
, End= ...
on 23 January 1714. He was the youngest of five children of Howel ap Howel, alias Harris (c. 1672–1731), a carpenter, and his wife, Susannah (died 1751), daughter of Thomas Powell. The family originally hailed from
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, but had settled in Trefeca in 1700, where Howell Sr had purchased a small landholding. Harris's oldest brother
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
trained as a blacksmith, but went on to secure a post at the
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
after studying in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. His other brother Thomas made his name as a tailor to wealthy clients and amassed enough income to purchase estates in Tregunter and Trefeca, and other properties nearby. He served as
High Sheriff of Brecknockshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Brecknockshire or Breconshire.
The office of High Sheriff of Brecknockshire was established in 1535 since when a High Sheriff was appointed annually by the Queen until 1974 when the office was merged into that o ...
in 1768.
Harris underwent religious conversion in March 1735 after hearing a parish-church sermon by the Rev. Pryce Davies on the Sunday before Easter, on the necessity of partaking of
Holy Communion
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
. This led to several weeks of self-examination, which reached a climax at Communion on Whit Sunday, May 1735. After what is described as answering the devil's accusations, he received Communion and became convinced he had received mercy through the blood of Christ, which gave him a sense of great joy. He immediately began to tell others of this and hold meetings in his home to encourage others to seek the same assurance of Christ's forgiveness.
He failed to be accepted for ordination in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
because of views held to be "
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
". Instead he became a travelling preacher, tirelessly determined to spread the word through Wales. His preaching often led him into personal danger, persecution and hardship before he gained a following. From 1738 he was supported by
Marmaduke Gwynne
Marmaduke Gwynne (1691–1769) was a descendant of the Gwynne family of Glanbrân near Llandovery and an early and influential Methodist convert. He married well and employed Theophilus Evans as an Anglican private chaplain. He was converted to Met ...
, a local squire and early convert.
Maramaduke Gynne
, llgc.org.uk, retrieved September 2013
In 1750 Harris retreated to his home at Trefeca, having fallen out with a fellow evangelist, Daniel Rowland, and become the subject of public scandal for his close friendship with "Madam" Sidney Griffith Sidney Griffith (née Wynne; died 1752), known in her time as "Madam" Griffith, was an important figure in the Welsh Methodist revival of the mid-18th century.
She was the daughter of Cadwaladr Wynne of Voelas, Denbighshire, and was named Sidney a ...
. In 1752 he was inspired by the example of the Moravians
Moravians ( cs, Moravané or colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavic ethnographic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech or Common Czech or a mixed form of both. Along with the Silesi ...
to found a religious community there known as ''Teulu Trefeca'' (The Trefeca family) with himself as "Father".
Harris had not given up preaching and resumed his former activities in 1763, after a reconciliation with Rowland. He died ten years later and was buried close to his birthplace at Talgarth, where 20,000 people are said to have attended his funeral. There is a memorial to him at Rhydyclafdy
Rhydyclafdy (or Rhyd-y-clafdy) is a small village close to the southern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It lies 2.8 miles (4.58 km) to the west of Pwllheli and 19.65 miles (31.62 km) south west of Caernarfon ...
, near Pwllheli, where he preached.
He was effectively the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Wales
The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales.
History
The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
, also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church
The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales.
History
The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
.
The papers of Howell Harris
Harris kept a detailed diary and carefully filed the letters he sent and received during his ministry. His papers offer a first-hand account of the Welsh Methodist revival. After his death, they were left to gather dust for over a century before O. M. Edwards, in the 1880s, noted their importance and suggested they ought to be cared for. By this time, the former home of Harris at Trefeca had been turned into a college, whose deputy head, Edwin Williams, took on the task of putting the papers in order. They were kept there until 1910, when the Presbyterian Church of Wales
The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales.
History
The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
, as their ostensible owner, decided to set up a committee to take care of them and study them.
By 1913 the scale of the work needing to be done on the papers became apparent. Many of the papers were in Latin, and it was estimated that it would take much of a decade and a vast sum of money to ready them for publication. In 1913, it was decided it would be a better use of resources to set up a Historical Society of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, which would publish a regular journal that would include some of Harris's papers.
Probably around 1932, the papers were moved from Trefeca to the denomination's theological college in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
. These papers, along with others from Coleg y Bala (an old college of the denomination in Bala, North Wales), were taken in 1934 to be stored safely at the National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...
. There the papers remain in the vaults to this day. Revd Dr Geraint Tudur (son of R. Tudur Jones
Robert Tudur Jones (28 June 1921 – 23 July 1998), better known as R. Tudur Jones, was a Welsh nationalist and one of the country's leading theologians. His nationalistic stance, combined with Calvinist doctrine, created an integrated vision that ...
), formerly Lecturer in Church History at University of Wales, Bangor
Bangor University ( cy, Prifysgol Bangor) is a Public university, public university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Wales. It received its Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 and was one of the founding institutions of the federal University of Wales ...
, and subsequently General Secretary of the Union of Welsh Independents, published a biography: ''Howell Harris: From Conversion to Separation, 1735–1750'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000).
References
Bibliography
*
*Nuttall, Geoffrey (1965). ''Howell Harris 1714-1773: The Last Enthusiast''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
*Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn (1987). "Howell Harris and Revival," in ''The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors''. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust.
*Davies, Gwyn (2002), ''A light in the land : Christianity in Wales, 200–2000'', Bridgend: Bryntirion Press.
*Tudur, Geraint (2001), "Papurau Howell Harris" in ''Cof Cenedl XVI'', Gwasg Gomer.
External links
Harris, Howel(l) 1714–1773
at Welsh Biography Online, National Library of Wales
*Lloyd-Jones, Martyn
Reproduction of article first published in 1973.
*Powys Digital History Project
The ''Powys Digital History Project'' is a digital history project in Wales that focuses on recording local history through both digital archival materials and interpretation that is accessible for a wide range of users. The project covers the his ...
Howell Harris 1714–1773
Howell Harris at 100 Welsh Heroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Howell
1714 births
1773 deaths
People from Brecknockshire
Welsh Protestant religious leaders
Christian revivalists
Calvinistic Methodists
Methodist theologians
18th-century Welsh clergy
18th-century Welsh theologians