Welsh Journals

CHURCH DAY SCHOOLS IN ABERYSTWYTH DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY IT is often said that the Established Church in Aberystwyth in the nineteenth century was mainly concerned with the building and re- building of churches. Much of that statement is true, for three success- ive churches of St. Michael and All Angels were built the first erected in 1787 was taken down in 1836, the second completed in 1833 was razed in 1894, the third and present one was consecrated in 1890. Furthermore, the growing awareness of the special needs of the Welsh- speaking inhabitants of the town led to the building of St. Mary's Welsh Church in 1865. Even that venture did not complete the build- ing programme, for Holy Trinity Church was erected in 1886. Yet it would be wrong to assume that the erection of places of worship was its only achievement in this period, for it took considerable interest in the religious, moral, and educational welfare of the parish. In spite of the frequent appeals to church-goers and others for mone- tary contributions to building funds, the generosity of local benefact- ors, of county families such as the Gogerddan and Nanteos households, and the subscriptions of less well-to-do people made it possible for the Church to embark upon programmes for educational provision. It was instrumental in building three schools-only two were National schools-without the assistance of government building grants, re- lying largely upon the voluntary efforts of philanthropic individuals, private subscriptions, legacies, and donations. Among the keen workers on behalf of these schools were the clergy of St. Michael and Llanbadarn Fawr (the Reverends Richard Morgan, Richard Evans, E. O. Phillips, and J. H. Protheroe), Pryse Pryse, Job Sheldon, the Reverend Thomas Richards, members of the Bonsall family, [Sir] George Fossett Roberts, and many others. It should be noticed that the year 1861 is not only very significant in the ecclesiastical history of the town, but also important as the chief landmark in the history of the National schools. Until that year St. Michael was a chapel-of-ease to the church at Llanbadarn, and its incumbents were curates of that church but after that date it had its own recognised vicar and a more clearly defined separate existence. Again, by 1861 the old National schools had practically ceased to be effective, and in that year the Reverend E. O. Phillips, the new vicar, took the preliminary steps to build the more up-to-date present schools in North Road. A. 1804-1818 At the beginning of the century the Church took practically no interest in elementary education in the town. In 1804 the Reverend