Welsh Journals

Dean and Chapter for the use of his successors. The house was rebuilt by William Walter, Archdeacon 1504-23. Subsequently restored again, "Brecon House" still stands at St Davids, but no longer the residence of the Archdeacon of Brecon, unless he should choose to rent it from the Chapter. Richard Fetherston who became Archdeacon of Brecon in 1523 is remember- ed in some quarters as a Roman Catholic martyr. He had been a tutor to Princess Mary and he was a supporter of the cause of Queen Katherine (of Aragon) when Henry VIII tried to get a decree of nullity from the Pope. Had he not married within the prohibited degrees, for Katherine was his deceased brother's wife, even though Papal Dispensation had been granted? Under the third Act of Parliament which met in 1834 Fetherston's preferments were declared void. Yardley thought that he later became Archdeacon of St Davids but he may be mistaken. When Fetherston was drawn, hung and quartered on July 30, 1540, because he refused to acknowledge the Royal Supremacy, he was described as "an Archdeacon in the Church of St Davids". Probably Brecon was still his title. There seems to have been another papistical Archdeacon of Brecon. John Blaxton, collated in 1554 was removed from office in 1559. Yardley remarks: "He was, I presume, attached to ye popish superstition and so removed upon Queen Elizabeth's accession to ye Throne". Some of the absentee Archdeacons of Brecon were not undistinguished. Timothy Halton, Archdeacon 1671-1704, was also Archdeacon of Oxford, Provost of Queen's College and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Besides William Nicholson there were three other episcopal Archdeacons. William Blethin, collated in 1567, became Bishop of Llandaff in 1575 with licence to hold his Archdeaconry in commendam. David Chirbury, Archdeacon 1437-56 was Bishop of Dromore, in Ireland from 1432. The other was Edward Latham Bevan. In terms of non-residence, Thomas Payn, Archdeacon 1735-59 outshone all others. As Chaplain to the East India Company's trading post in Constantin- ople, established in 1726, he sent a number of valuable oriental manuscripts to William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop used his influence to get Thomas Payn appointed Archdeacon of Brecon. He came to this country to be collated in 1736. Soon afterwards he returned to Constantinople where he remained until his death in 1759. The long succession of absentee Archdeacons came to an end in the person of Thomas Payn's successor, Edward Edwards. He nominated himself to be Vicar of Llanfaes and served the parish till his death in 1803. After Edward Edwards came a succession of Archdeacons who were closely associated with Brecon. Richard Davies was Vicar and Archdeacon of Brecon 1803-59. The son and grandson of former Vicars of Brecon, all of the same name, he was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. Edwin Poole, in his county history, described him as "one of the most remark- able men of his time"; but the anecdotes which he relates refer to Richard Davies' activities as Vicar rather than as Archdeacon. The latter was still an empty title. The life and work of Richard Davies would repay further study. In