author

Robert Williams

1810–1881

A Welsh clergyman and Celtic scholar, he is remembered for bringing together language, local history, and biography in books that still matter to readers of Welsh culture. His work ranged from Cornish lexicography to the lives of notable Welsh figures, with a lifelong interest in preserving the past.

1 Audiobook

A Biographical Sketch of some of the Most Eminent Individuals which the Principality of Wales has produced since the Reformation

A Biographical Sketch of some of the Most Eminent Individuals which the Principality of Wales has produced since the Reformation

by Robert Williams

About the author

Born in Conwy on 29 June 1810, he was the son of Robert Williams, a clergyman at Llandudno. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, then served in the Church of England while building a reputation as a careful scholar of Welsh and Celtic history.

Alongside his church work, he wrote and edited books that helped preserve important parts of Welsh literary and historical tradition. His best-known works include Enwogion Cymru, a biographical dictionary of notable Welsh people, The History and Antiquities of the Town of Aberconwy and its Neighbourhood, and Lexicon Cornu-Britannicum, a dictionary of the ancient Cornish language.

He spent many years as vicar of Llangadwaladr and later became rector of Culmington in Herefordshire. Robert Williams died on 26 April 1881, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both scholarly patience and a clear desire to keep Celtic and Welsh heritage accessible.