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

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest and writer.

Life

Williams, from

Mallwyd Mallwyd () is a small village at the most southern end of Gwynedd, Wales in the Dinas 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 t ...

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, 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 pref ...

Betws-yn-Rhos Betws yn Rhos ('' en, Chapel house in 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 formed part of Denbighshire, bu ...

, he attended

Ruthin School Ruthin School is a public school (i.e. independent 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. Origina ...

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 St ...

, obtaining a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1802 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. Tho ...

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, following the confirmation of his electio ...

, he was an usher at

Friars School, Bangor Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools 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 fria ...

and also curate of

Llandygai Llandygái (; ; ; also Llandegai) is a small village and community on the A5 road between Bangor and Tal-y-bont in Gwynedd, Wales. It affords a view of the nearby Carneddau mountain range. The population of the community taken at the 2011 ...

. 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 village ...

, vicar of

Halkyn Halkyn ( cy, Helygain ; Flintshire Welsh: ''Lygian '') 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, increasi ...

, vicar of

Meifod Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village, community and electoral ward 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a conf ...

and, from 1836 until his death, vicar of

Ysceifiog Ysceifiog, also written Ysgeifiog, is a small village, community (Wales), community and parish 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 ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. 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 name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

. 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 ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llanelwy), is a cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of St Asaph. The cathedral d ...

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