Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

Paul Reynolds, St Gabriel's: A Centenary History of the Parish of St Gabriel with Saint Augustine, Swansea 1889-1989. Published by the Vicar and Churchwardens of St Gabriel's Church, Swansea, 1989. 96pp. Price £ 2.00 (plus 34p postage, available from the author, 87 Gabalfa Road, Sketty, Swansea, SA2 8ND). This centenary history of the parish of St Gabriel, Swansea, begins in Ethiopia. There, in 1868, was buried in the churchyard of the church of St Gabriel in the Takazze valley Jeffrey Morgan. He was an officer in the Royal Engineers and a member of an old- established Swansea family with a strong military tradition. Twenty-one years later, in 1889, the parish church of St Gabriel was consecrated. It was Jeffrey Morgan's youngest brother, Colonel W L Morgan, who was largely responsible for the building of this church in order to perpetuate his brother's memory. Indeed, Colonel Morgan's influence in the parish was very considerable until his death in 1927. The origins of the parish are described as belonging to the evangelical wing of the Church of England. This was to be expected as it was carved out of the parish of Swansea the patronage of which was in the hands of an evangelical trust. Vincent Young, the first vicar, stayed only for a year. He was succeeded in 1891 by John Pollock who stayed until his premature death in 1911. Pollock's incumbency was characterised by his "becoming increasingly sympathetic to the catholic movement within the Church of England." Pollock prepared the groundwork upon which his successor built. In 1911 the living was offered to Maurice Williams who retained it until his resignation in 1949. Williams's origins were evangelical but it was he who made St Gabriel's one of the leading catholic parishes in the Swansea area. The story of Williams being offered the living of Port Talbot St Theodore in 1920 is intriguing and one cannot help but wonder what the subsequent history of the parish would have been if he had accepted it. His long incumbency was recognised in 1944 by his appointment as chancellor of Brecon Cathedral. He and Colonel Morgan seem to be the dominating influences in the history of the parish. In 1949 Williams was succeeded by Illtyd Jenkins whose incumbency was to last twenty-five years. The spiritual aspect of parish work during that time, with its emphasis on parish missions, is described in detail. This short work is based on the continuous run of parish magazines from 1866 to the present, parish registers, minute books and, above all, the parish log book. The result is a pleasing and very well written work which will add to our knowledge of the effect of the Oxford Movement in the Swansea area. B M Lodwick Llansannor Rectory