Introduction:
One of the most colourful characters associated to Y Capel Bach (St Mary’s Church) was the reverend Thomas Davies who was know as “Y Ffeiriad Coch” (The Red Priest), probably so named for his red hair and beard. He was born in 1715 in West Wales in the village of Talyllechau in Carmarthenshire and died in 1753 after a fall from his horse when returning from Glyncorrwg to Ystrad Dyfodwg (Now known as the Rhondda Valley).
He served as the vicar of Ystrad Dyfodwg and held the curate for Saint John the Baptists Church in the neighbouring parish of Glyncorrwg from 1734 until his death in 1753. During this period, as Y Capel Bach in Blaengwrach was also in the parish of Glyncorrwg, he was also responsible for carrying out religious services at Y Capel Bach as well. So after his morning Sunday service in Glyncorrwg Church, he would then travel by horseback to the distant Blaengwrach church to carry out the service there on a Sunday afternoon or evening for the congregation of Blaengwrach. He may have had a curate (dwelling) in Blaengwrach.
The parson used to travel from Glyncorrwg to Blaengwrach over Craig Y Llyn on horseback on the track called Ffordd Y Ffeiriad. These mountain tracks were the main roads of their day, unfortunately there is no written record of the actual route of this track but there are some good indications of the route it took. For more information on this track see Ffordd y Ffeiriad (The Way or Route of the Priest).
Ed Note: At that time it was the law that everyone had to worship on a Sunday at their local Parish church or be fined if they didn’t. Prior to Y Capel Bach being built in around 1595 to 1601, the people of Blaengwrach had to travel to Glyncorrwg to worship on a Sunday a distance of over 6 miles over the nearly 2000 foot Craig y Llyn mountain, as you can imagine a difficult, tiring and timely journey.
See article on St Mary’s Church timeline here. (coming soon)
Back to the main subject of this article, there are many stories of Ffeiriad Coch which shows us a bit about his character and the times he lived in, these stories I have found in various books and other publications, such as newspapers and other online websites. See References and Resources below for a list of books and publications used.
With regard to his character it was said that he was a fiery and wild individual who quarrelled and fought with his parishioners and sought companionship in the local taverns. (Brown, chapter 3)
It is alleged he kept a pack of cards with him at all times, and would drink and play cards until the early hours of the morning in the taverns. With regard to religion it was said he failed to read the litany, (a prayer that is called by the priest and responded to by the congregation) catechise the children (a form of learning by rote), and failed to hold services on Holy days. He died as he lived falling over a cliff on horseback while intoxicated, It was said that “he had drunk well, but not wisely”.
Previous to the accident which eventually killed him, there are a number of stories about him which I have shown below.
Stories about Y Ffeiriad Coch:
The fall that killed him was not his first fall, it is said that there is a quarry somewhere between the Neath and Rhondda valley called “Cwar y Ffeirad” so named as the Priest had fallen over it when travelling in the dark on his way home. The horse was killed but he was unhurt.
On one of his journeys using these mountain tracks he was waylaid by a highway robber who demanded his money. He punched this robber so hard he killed him on the spot. When he found the robber was dead he rode to the nearest magistrate to explain what he had done, he explained to the magistrate “Fi trawa’s a o modd, ond fi lladdas a o’m hanfodd” (I struck him of my own accord, but killed him advertently.)
Another time one of his parishioners had given to the parson a half of a salmon which had been caught in the river Rhondda. He was not at all happy to receive only half of the salmon and complained about the smallness of the gift saying;
“Gwaeddais i drosto ar Dduw lawer pryd,…….. I cried to God many times,
haeddwn gael samwn, un cyfan i gyd”……….. I deserved a salmon, a whole one
He also frequented the public house in Pontneddfechan which used to be used by the Glamorgan Bards for their meetings.
Unfortunately on one occasion it was reported that he attended the meeting in a state of intoxication and cleared the room. He was a bit of a Bard himself and also an exceptionally big and active man and had a terrible temper when drunk, so the Bards present erred on the side of caution and gave the meeting up instead of trying to pacify him.
There are two accounts of the next tale which can be found in the South Wales Echo on December 1st 1980. I’ll let you decide which you think is correct.
The story goes that the first Calvinistic Methodist Minister John Thomas was assaulted by The Red Priest when he started preaching from a horse block after the morning service to the people merrymaking in the church field.
The first version of the story has the Red Priest drinking at a local tavern called Ty’r Eglwys at Ystrad and on hearing the the Methodist Minister preach left the pub “full of wrath and fury” and brutally attacked John Thomas along with using threatening and indecent language against him.
The second version of this story was actually written and published by John Thomas himself so probably is more accurate. The event and other stories was also published in the South Wales Echo on the 1st December 1980 by Oscar Rees.
John Thomas stated that the incident took place on the Sunday of the feast of the local saint, St John the Baptist, (Gwyl Mabsant, patron festival) which the church in Glyncorrwg is named after. It was customary on this day to hold a church service in the morning and the rest of the day being given over to games and dancing.
In this version of events the Red Priest was not at a local tavern but was merrymaking with a group of friends nearby. When the new minister, John Thomas, started preaching, the people playing games, dancing and the musicians stopped what they were doing and made their way over to listen to the new preacher. The Red Priest told the fiddlers “if you want to get paid, get back to work” and also told John Thomas to leave, thereby allowing all the merrymakers to return to their merrymaking.
In the same newspaper report mention was made of a further incident. While the Red Priest was returning from Glyncorrwg via Cymmer, he heard the sound of a fiddler and carousing coming from one of Cymmer’s local taverns. He was not known for his subtlety and with “no respecter of persons in the matter of church discipline”, although perhaps this is a bit hypocritical from a man whose bad reputation in church matters went before him.
On hearing the music and merriment coming from the tavern he knocked at the Tavern door. but the Tavern owner realising who was knocking at his door was too afraid to open it. All the fiddling and carousing stopped but after a short time started up again, he therefore knocked at the door again and this time it was opened. When the fiddler started to tune to play again, he grabbed the fiddle and smashed it, he then severely reprimanded those inside for their sin and profanity on the Lord’s Day.
The next tale translated into English by Mr Gruffydd Llewellyn secretary of the Rhondda Society, is taken from Canon William Lewis’ pamphlet “Cwm Rhondda a’r Ffoiriad Coch” published in Welsh in the late 19th Century.
No actual date for the story is unknown, but it was written during the Red Priests time as vicar of the church at Ton-Pentre from 1734 – 1753, whilst at the same time he was the curate of Y Capel Bach as well.
The story bears some similarities to Eastern European tales of vampires or today’s poltergeists. You must remember that in these times Superstition, Spirits Ghouls, Corpse candles etc. were something to be believed in and frightened of. It was also common belief that the “Priest” had the powers to silence these spirits and banish them from the house or surrounding area.
The Llangynnwyd Terror: In Llangynnwyd, living in the same house was an old man, a woman and a little boy. The old man was on his death bed and asked the woman for a glass of water to quench his thirst. As the woman was busy with the housework she replied to him sharply and did not immediately bring him some water. The old man threatened her by saying ”You remember this, I’ll be on your back” and he died shortly after. Immediately after his death a strange uneasiness came over the house and stones were thrown at the roof and at the door by an unseen force, and fearful voices and groans were heard.
The young boy then started throwing all the clothes he could see onto the fire, and when the woman asked him what he was doing he replied, “The old man is telling me to do it”. This disturbance went on for some time until the whole community became terrified. They had no idea how to stop the disturbance and voices and groaning.
They then thought of the “Ffeiriad Coch” the local vicar, and he was sent for. He quickly came to their aid and silenced and banished whatever was causing the problems for the community, leaving the region in peace.
That brings us to the end of this article as the Reverends last journey was to end in tragedy. On returning from Glyncorrwg to Ystrad Dyfodwg he fell over the rock now known as “Tarran y Ffîrad” (Rock of the Priest) which is situated just above Tydraw, in the village of Blaencwm in the Rhondda valley, both man and horse perished in the fall. He died from the injuries he sustained a fortnight later and was buried in Ystrad Dyfodwg churchyard on 17th November 1753. It was said at the time that “he had drunk well, but not wisely”.
Resources and References:
The History of the Vale of Neath – D Rhys Philips, pages. 126, 541, 547.
Through Cloud and Sunshine – Roger Lee Brown, chapter 3 ~ ISBN 0 907117 14 7 (paperback)
A – Z of Welsh Clerics – Roger L. Brown, P. 64. ~ ISBN: 0-86381-764-5, page 64.
Newspaper clipping courtesy of The National Library of Wales and The British Newspaper Archive, links below.
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (you will need to subscribe to this site to access hundreds of British newspapers)