Welsh Journals

That upon ye 28th day of March 1666 four years after the ejection of many hundreds of Gospel ministers in England and Wales, all the church members scattered up and down in Llangev-lach and ye parishes adjacent joyned and covenanted together to choose ye worthy and faithful servant of Christ Mr. Robert Thomas of ye hall in Bag- land for their pastor the day and year above said. Whether the event thus described marks the beginning of the cause, or a later stage in its development, is unclear from the wording of the extract. Older writers such as the nonconformist historian Dr. Thomas Rees, and John Davies, minister at Mynyddbach from 1840 until 1854, believed that it emerged during the upheavals of the Civil War period. Certainly the Swansea area was one of the few parts of Wales where there was considerable support for those puritan forms of worship which became known as dissent after 1660. Moreover, an entry in a list of deceased mem- bers recorded in the church book appears to support this claim: Edward Harry, a member for 50 years together continued honest and faithful in God's ways even till last being on 6 October 1701. However, the memorandum makes no mention of the cause being in existence before 1666, whilst the evidence which has been advanced else- where in support of this claim is far from satisfactory. What is beyond doubt, however, is that in 1666 a dissenting congregation was worshipping in Llangyfelach parish. This same memorandum also adds that the congre- gation held their services at a property called 'Kilyfwnwr.' This is the present- day Cilfwnwr farm, situated about midway between Llangyfelach parish church and Penllergaer. The choice of Cilfwnwr is probably to be explained by the fact that its occupant, Mary Thomas, was the sister of Robert Thomas who had been chosen as pastor in 1666. His pastoral respon- sibilities were not confined to the Cilfwnwr worshippers but extended to similar congregations at Gellionen, Blaengwrach, Cwmllynfell, Neath and Baglan. These congregations were loosely linked in a federal church which was named in 1675 by a well-informed contemporary as the Cadog- stone Church.4 Although labelled independents, persecution meant that they consisted of people of various dissenting persuasions. Despite what the church book calls the "difficulties and hardships" of anglican persecution, the congregation continued to meet during the years which followed. That it survived was, doubtless, due in part to the efforts of Robert Thomas, that "godly minister", as he is described in the records. Thomas lived until 1692, long enough to see his flock reach the less testing time after the Act of 1689. Lewis Davies who followed him