Protestant Dissent in Wales

Abstract

Wales was once perceived as a ‘nation of Nonconformists’, but immediately after the Glorious Revolution, Dissenters represented a tiny minority of the Welsh population. One of the roots of later Dissenting success can be found in the disproportionate contribution that Welsh Dissenters made to Welsh-language print culture in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In addition, the growth of a ‘circulating’ school system helped spread literacy (and the Word) to the younger generation. Although begun by Griffith Jones, rector of Llanddowror, the episcopal hierarchy remained sceptical of movements that crossed parish boundaries. This was also true of Methodism. The impact of revival in Wales was considerable. Initially, much of the support was derived from Methodists, although Calvinistic Methodism was initially much stronger than Wesleyan Methodism in the country—it was only in the early nineteenth century that Wesleyan Methodism began to enjoy more success.