The
Welsh Revival was the largest
Christian revivalChristian revival is a term that generally refers to a specific period of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or many churches, either regionally or globally...
in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population, and it had repercussions that reached far beyond the Welsh border, triggering a series of revivals in other countries. “The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being places in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America.”
Background
Before the 1904–1905 revival the last revival that Wales saw was in 1859, but prior to that change was already afoot. From 1850 onwards the Christianity of Wales was markedly less Calvinistic in form. A generation of powerful biblical preachers ended, as leaders such as
Christmas EvansChristmas Evans was a Welsh Nonconformist minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of Wales....
(1838),
John EliasJohn Elias was a Christian preacher in Wales in the first half of the 19th century, as part of the Welsh Methodist revival. His preaching was noted as being exceptionally powerful, "as if talking fire down from heaven". On one occasion it is said he preached to a crowd of 10,000 people. He was a...
(1841) and Henry Rees (1869) died.
Between 1859 and 1904, there were local revivals: in
CwmafanCwmafan is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales, lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It has a population of 5,603. In many ways it is a suburb of the nearby town of Port Talbot which is less than to the south, but it is separated from the town by the local...
(1866),
RhonddaRhondda was a local government district based around the geographical area of the Rhondda Valley, south Wales.The district was initially created as Ystradyfodwg Local Government District from parts of Ystradyfodwg, Llanwonno and Llantrisant parishes, Glamorgan, in 1877, when the Local Government...
(1879),
CarmarthenCarmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
and
Blaenau FfestiniogBlaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...
(1887),
DowlaisDowlais is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. As of 2001, it has a population of 6646.Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, roughly 5,000 people, the works...
(1890) and
PontnewyddPontnewydd is a suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen, south-east Wales.Beginning in the late 19th/early 20th century, as a small village in the locality of Llanfrechfa Upper, Pontnewydd has grown rapidly since the start of the Cwmbran New Town development in 1949. Locally, it is...
(1892).
Revival begins
There is no clear origin for the movement but several locations can be viewed as major components of the revival.
New Quay and Blaenannerch
A prominent leader of the Revival was the Methodist preacher of
New QuayNew Quay is a seaside town in Ceredigion, West Wales with a resident population of around 1,200 people. Located on Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, it remains a popular seaside resort and traditional fishing town.-History:...
, Joseph Jenkins, who, in 1903, arranged a conference in New Quay under the theme "to deepen our loyalty to Christ". After a meeting in February 1904, the regular Sunday meetings as well as the newly founded mid-week meetings became lively and Joseph Jenkins’ Church went to other surrounding
townA town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s and
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s to witness.
In September a conference was held in Blaenannerch. It was reported that 'massive blessing' was upon this conference and the news quickly spread throughout the area and beyond. The South Wales Daily News picked up on the events and reported that "the third great revival was afoot through the nation!"—the other two revivals being the
Welsh Methodist revivalThe Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Griffith Jones, William Williams and Howell Harris were such powerful speakers that they converted thousands of people back to the church...
and the 1859 Methodist Revival.
Ammanford
At the beginning of November 1904 Jenkins was invited as guest preacher at meetings in Bethany Ammanford, the Church of
Nantlais WilliamsWilliam Nantlais Williams , better known simply as Nantlais, was a Welsh poet and a Presbyterian Christian leader during the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival.- Background :...
. When it was arranged that Joseph Jenkins was to be guest preacher there was no news of the conversions in New Quay and Blaenannerch, but an extra meeting was hastily arranged on the Sunday afternoon so that Joseph Jenkins could tell about the events in New Quay and Blaenannerch. Williams is recorded to have said that he was worried that there would be no interest in such a meeting and he was sceptical what the turn out would be; when he himself arrived he could only just squeeze into the Chapel to hear Jenkins.
It had been arranged before New Quay and Blaenannerch that Jenkins was to preach on the Monday night before his return to New Quay. The Church was again full with people professing their faith in Jesus; but perhaps the most dramatic turn was when one of the crowd announced
Another meeting like this will be held here tomorrow night…, and so that meeting again was well attended and went on until the early hours of the morning. Despite already having been ordained as a Minister it is worth noting that upon that weekend in November 1904 Williams had a conversion experience, on the Saturday night prior to Jenkins’ arrival.
North Wales
In December 1904 Joseph Jenkins embarked upon a three month period preaching and professing in areas of
North WalesNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
. Many meetings were held in
AmlwchAmlwch is the most northerly town in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. The town has no beach, but it has impressive coastal cliffs. Tourism is an important element of the local economy. At one time it...
,
LlangefniLlangefni is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llangefni was 4,662 people and it is the second largest settlement on the island...
,
LlanerchymeddLlannerch-y-medd, sometimes also spelt Llanerch-y-Medd, Llannerch-y-Medd or Llanerchymedd, is a small village and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The Royal Mail postcode is LL71, and it has a population of 1,185....
,
TalysarnTalysarn is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales.The Welsh language poet Robert Williams Parry was born in 37, Station Road, Talysarn, where a plaque designed by R.L. Gapper commemorates the connection. Other persons connected with the village were Annant, quarryman,...
,
LlanllyfniLlanllyfni is a small village near Penygroes in Gwynedd, North Wales.It is a largely Welsh speaking close-knit village. About over 85% of the villagers speak Welsh as their first language....
,
LlanrwstLlanrwst is a small town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th century to 6th century Saint Grwst, and the original parish church in Cae Llan was replaced by the 12th-century church....
,
DenbighDenbigh is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Before 1888, it was the county town of Denbighshire. Denbigh lies 8 miles to the north west of Ruthin and to the south of St Asaph. It is about 13 miles from the seaside resort of Rhyl. The town grew around the glove-making industry...
,
DinorwigDinorwig is a small village located high above Llyn Padarn, near Llanberis, in Wales.It is thought that it was part of the territory of the Ordovices tribe, and that 'Dinorwig' means "Fort of the Ordovices".The village has a long history of slate quarrying...
,and conversions occurred amongst students in the University of Wales Bangor. But perhaps the largest conversions were seen in Bethesda, where another leader of the revival
J. T. JobJohn Thomas Job , was a Welsh minister, hymn-writer and poet.He was born at Llandybie in Carmarthenshire, and educated locally. He went on to Trefeca College to train as a Methodist minister. In 1894, he married Etta Davies, and they had three children...
described the meeting held in Jerusalem Bethesda on the 22 of December 1904 as "a hurricane".
Evan Roberts and Loughor
Evan RobertsEvan John Roberts , was a leading figure of the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival who suffered many setbacks in his later life.His obituary in The Western Mail summed up his career thus:- Early life :...
was a young man influenced by the stories and experiences that were happening over in New Quay and Blaenannerch. He decided to leave for ministerial training in
Newcastle EmlynNewcastle Emlyn is a town straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in west Wales and lying on the River Teifi.Adpar is the part of the town that lies on the Ceredigion side of the River Teifi...
and arrived in the Revival in south
CeredigionCeredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
. The news of the mass conversions in New Quay and Blaenannerch had already spread to Newcastle Emlyn and served as a distraction for a man who had been sent there to study.
Seth JoshuaSeth Joshua , was a Welsh Presbyterian minister and Evangelist who was noted for his influence before during and after the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival as well as for being a direct influence on the ministry of Evan Roberts, one of the leading figures of that revival...
, another prominent leader of the Revival came to the area to hold meetings, which Roberts attended eagerly.
After his three months training at Newcastle Emlyn he was to return to
LoughorLoughor is a town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community council called Llwchwr....
to start his ministry. He claimed to have direct visions from the
Holy SpiritHoly Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
; very specific visions such as the number 100,000 representing the souls God intended to use him to save. As the revival unfolded Roberts is said to have depended increasingly upon what he considered the guiding of the Holy Spirit.
Response to Roberts' ministry was initially slow but soon the crowds turned out and the meetings were carried on until the early hours of the morning. After the meeting at Loughor, Roberts assembled a team and went on a tour of the
South Wales valleysThe South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
to spread the revival.
Roberts did not take well the decline of the revival, and the frustration of great expectations of a world wide revival that had arisen in his team, and afterwards fell into depression. He was housed then by a friend and co-authored a book with his friend's wife
Jessie Penn-LewisJessie Penn-Lewis was a Welsh evangelical speaker and author of a number of Christian evangelical works.-Early life:Penn-Lewis was born in Victoria Terrace, Neath in 1861. Her father was a Methodist minister...
, War on the Saints, (believed by some to be heretical because of its use of the term "possession" to describe demonic spirit's potential effect on believers) from which he dissociated himself after he recovered from depression and the book was severely criticised.
Role of newspapers
A feature of this revival that was not seen in any other revival prior to 1904 was the role of the media. The Western Mail and the South Wales Daily News, Wales’ daily newspapers spread news of conversions and generated an air of excitement about the Revival that helped to fuel it further. The Western Mail in particular gave extensive coverage to Roberts' meetings in Loughor. The Western Mail articles were reprinted in book form in 2004 by Quinta Press.
Interpretations
The Welsh revival was not an isolated religious movement but very much a part of Britain's modernization. The revival began in the fall of 1904 under the leadership of Evan Roberts (1878–1951), a 26-year-old former collier and minister-in-training. The revival lasted less than a year, but in that period 100,000 converts were made. Begun as an effort to kindle nondenominational, nonsectarian spirituality, the Welsh revival of 1904-05 coincided with the rise of the labor movement, socialism, and a general disaffection with religion among the working class and youths. Placed in context, the short-lived revival appears as both a climax for Nonconformism and a flashpoint of change in Welsh religious life. The movement spread to Scotland and England, with estimates that a million people were converted in Britain. Missionaries subsequently carried the movement abroad; it was especially influential on the
Pentecostal movement emerging in CaliforniaThe Azusa Street Revival was a historic Pentecostal revival meeting that took place in Los Angeles, California and is the origin of the Pentecostal movement. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African American preacher. It began with a meeting on April 14, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915...
.
Unlike earlier religious revivals that pivoted on powerful preaching, the revival of 1904-05 relied primarily on music and on paranormal phenomena as exemplified by the visions of Evan Roberts. The intellectual emphasis of the earlier revivals had left a dearth of religious imagery that the visions supplied. They also challenged the denial of the spiritual and miraculous element of Scripture by opponents of the revival, who held liberal and critical theological positions. The structure and content of the visions not only repeated those of Scripture and earlier Christian mystical tradition but also illuminated the personal and social tensions that the revival addressed by juxtaposing Biblical images with scenes familiar to contemporary Welsh believers.
Media
In 2004, the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's
Bread of Heaven series featured a programme on the 1904 Welsh Revival, which was presented by
Huw EdwardsHuw Edwards is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast...
.
In 2005 a musical was made about the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival. The music and lyrics are written by
Mal PopeMal Pope , is a Welsh musician and composer, who is especially notable for his contribution to music theatre portraying Welsh national identities and themes...
and the book is by
Frank VickeryFrank Vickery is a Welsh playwright.He was born at Blaencwm village, near Treorchy, in the Rhondda, South Wales.He has written plays for both stage and radio, including Family planning, All's fair, and Errogenous Zones....
. Its first tour began at the Grand Theatre, Swansea, Wales and was directed by
Michael BogdanovMichael Bogdanov , is a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for Young People.-Early years:...
with the Wales Theatre Company and included an appearance from
Peter KarriePeter Karrie , is a Welsh singer, best known for his portrayal of the lead role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, The Phantom of the Opera. He played the part in London, Toronto, Vancouver, Singapore, Hong Kong and on the UK Tour in Bradford, and Manchester...
.
Further reading
- Harvey, John. "Spiritual Emblems: The Visions of the 1904-5 Welsh Revival," Llafur: Journal of Welsh Labour History/Cylchgrawn Hanes Llafur Cymru, 1993, Vol. 6 Issue 2, pp 75–93
- Jones, J. Gwynfor. "Reflections on the Religious Revival in Wales 1904-05," Journal of the United Reformed Church History Society, Oct 2005, Vol. 7 Issue 7, pp 427–445
- Stead, W. T. and G. Campbell Morgan. The Welsh Revival 1905. The Pilgrim Press.
- War on The Saints, Jessie Penn-Lewis
Jessie Penn-Lewis was a Welsh evangelical speaker and author of a number of Christian evangelical works.-Early life:Penn-Lewis was born in Victoria Terrace, Neath in 1861. Her father was a Methodist minister...
& Evan RobertsEvan Roberts may refer to:*Evan Roberts *Evan Roberts , figure in the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival*Evan Roberts *Evan Roberts *Evan Roberts , Wales international rugby player...
Diggory Press, ISBN 1-905363-01-X; The Full Text, Unabridged Edition Thomas E. Lowe, Ltd., ISBN 0-913926-04-3
- The Awakening in Wales & Some of the Hidden Springs (republished as Fuel for Revival), Diggory Press, ISBN 1-84685-542-X
- I Saw The Welsh Revival David Matthews
David Matthews may refer to:* Dave Matthews , singer/guitarist of the Dave Matthews Band* David Matthews , MP for Swansea East 1919–1922* David Matthews , American bi-racial author...
Pioneer Books, ISBN 0-9626908-2-1
- The World Aflame, Rick Joyner, Whitaker House
Whitaker House is a charismatic, theologically conservative, evangelical Christian publishing house in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh...
, 1995, ISBN 0-88368-373-3
External links