Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Religion and society in Monmouthshire, 1840-1880, with particular reference to Thomas Thomas, the Pontypool Baptists and the campaign for disestablishment

Edwards, Arthur John 2016. Religion and society in Monmouthshire, 1840-1880, with particular reference to Thomas Thomas, the Pontypool Baptists and the campaign for disestablishment. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Item availability restricted.

[thumbnail of PhD Thesis]
Preview
PDF (PhD Thesis) - Accepted Post-Print Version
Download (111MB) | Preview
[thumbnail of SKM_364e17012311570.pdf] PDF - Supplemental Material
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (653kB)

Abstract

This thesis examines the effects of the campaign for disestablishment upon the religious and social life of Monmouthshire in the period 1840-1880. From a position of strength in 1840, nonconformists intensified their efforts to redress their religious and social grievances and to support the programme of the Liberation Society founded in 1844. The main focus of this study is the increasing influence of the Baptists, the strongest Nonconformest denomination in Monmouthshire during this period. The importance of the Baptist College and those involved in its leadership under its principal Dr Thomas Thomas, is analysed through the Dissenters’ campaigns against compulsory Church rate and state-funded education. Thomas’s leadership was paramount, not only in the Baptist College but also through crane street chapel of which he was pastor in a joint appointment for thirty –seven years. His stature was publicly recognised when he was appointed President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1872. He had become leader of the Baptist churches in Monmouthshire by1857 when he was chiefly responsible for setting up the Monmouthshire English Baptist Association at Pontypool. Thomas became noteworthy as a leader not only of Monmouthshire Baptists but also in the religious and social life of the county. His relationships with other religious leaders and his influence upon them are examined. This study seeks to fil a historiographical gap in our understanding of the impact of the campaign for Disestablishment in its early phases upon the religious life of Monmouthshire. It also provides a picture of the two institutions that were essential to the development of the Dissenters’ campaign for religious equality, Pontypool Baptist College and Crane Street Chapel. From the available resources, an analaysis is provided

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Date Type: Completion
Status: Unpublished
Schools: History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects: D History General and Old World > D History (General)
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 6 February 2017
Last Modified: 14 Dec 2021 16:01
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/95955

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics