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Rev. Edmund Jones
Edmund Jones is the source of much of our knowledge of the landscape, way of life, customs and folk-lore of Blaenau Gwent before the Industrial Revolution altered these valleys forever. This remarkable man was born in 1702 on the small farm of Penllwyn, in Nantyglo, in the parish of. His father, John Lewis, was a farmer, and Edmund, after the Welsh custom, took his father’s Christian name as his surname and so became “Edmund Jones”. His only education was gained from the curate of Aberystruth, Howel Prosser – a man who actually took part in a fairy funeral.
In 1740, Edmund Jones settled near Pontypool and succeeded in raising sufficient money to build a chapel, which he called Ebenezer. To complete the building, he had to sell his beloved books for £15. For the tiny stipend of £3 a year, he served his congregation until his death in 1791 at the age of 91.
In 1906, the author of the History of Monmouthshire, Joseph Bradney, recorded that:
He published several works in Welsh and in English, the chief of which are: -
- Dail Pren y Bywyd, 1745 (Leaves from the Tree of Life)
- Samson’s Hair. Printed at Trevecca, 1777.
- The same in Welsh, 1786.
- Goleuni yr Efengyl, 1785 (The Light of the Gospel)
- A relation of apparitions of spirits in the principality of Wales, MDCCLXXX.
- A geographical, religious and historical account of the parish of Aberystruth, Trevecka, 1779.
Of the last two books the former contains a collection of the most extraordinary apparitions, to all of which are assigned a divine or diabolical origin. Most of them took place in the county of Monmouth, and are thoroughly believed in by the author. The latter book is the best parochial history that had ever appeared up to that date, and contains an amount of information rarely met with in such works.”
“The house in which Edmund Jones resided is called Lower Pen-tranch, and remains precisely in the same condition as when the Prophet lived there. The ground floor contains but a kitchen and a small room called the Prophet’s Study, in which he wrote his books. A circular stone stairs leads up to the bedroom floor, containing two rooms, in the smaller of which he died.”[Bradney 1906, pp.458-459]
He was known in Monmouthshire as yr Hen Broffwyd (“the Old Prophet”), because of deep interest in astrology and his seemingly genuine gift of prophecy:
“He was noted in his district for foretelling things. He would, for instance, be asked to preach at some anniversary, or quarterly meeting, and he would answer, ‘I cannot, on that day; the rain will descend in torrents, and there will be no congregation.’ He would give the last mite he possessed to the needy, and tell his wife, ‘God will send a messenger with food and raiment at nine o'clock to-morrow.’ And so it would be.”[Sikes 1880, p. 105]
Edmund Jones’s parishioners always spoke of him as a fine preacher and kindly man. Despite his own poverty, he was known to have given his greatcoat and his shirt away to poor people he met on his travels.
In 1782, aged 80, he travelled 400 miles on foot in North Wales, preaching twice a day, every day. In 1789, at the age of 87 he preached 405 times! When he visited the local farms closer to home, he rode his beloved donkey, who was called “Shoned”.
Rev. Edmund Jones
Edmund Jones is the source of much of our knowledge of the landscape, way of life, customs and folk-lore of Blaenau Gwent before the Industrial Revolution altered these valleys forever. This remarkable man was born in 1702 on the small farm of Penllwyn, in Nantyglo, in the parish of. His father, John Lewis, was a farmer, and Edmund, after the Welsh custom, took his father’s Christian name as his surname and so became “Edmund Jones”. His only education was gained from the curate of Aberystruth, Howel Prosser – a man who actually took part in a fairy funeral.
In 1740, Edmund Jones settled near Pontypool and succeeded in raising sufficient money to build a chapel, which he called Ebenezer. To complete the building, he had to sell his beloved books for £15. For the tiny stipend of £3 a year, he served his congregation until his death in 1791 at the age of 91.
In 1906, the author of the History of Monmouthshire, Joseph Bradney, recorded that:
He published several works in Welsh and in English, the chief of which are: -
- Dail Pren y Bywyd, 1745 (Leaves from the Tree of Life)
- Samson’s Hair. Printed at Trevecca, 1777.
- The same in Welsh, 1786.
- Goleuni yr Efengyl, 1785 (The Light of the Gospel)
- A relation of apparitions of spirits in the principality of Wales, MDCCLXXX.
- A geographical, religious and historical account of the parish of Aberystruth, Trevecka, 1779.
Of the last two books the former contains a collection of the most extraordinary apparitions, to all of which are assigned a divine or diabolical origin. Most of them took place in the county of Monmouth, and are thoroughly believed in by the author. The latter book is the best parochial history that had ever appeared up to that date, and contains an amount of information rarely met with in such works.”
“The house in which Edmund Jones resided is called Lower Pen-tranch, and remains precisely in the same condition as when the Prophet lived there. The ground floor contains but a kitchen and a small room called the Prophet’s Study, in which he wrote his books. A circular stone stairs leads up to the bedroom floor, containing two rooms, in the smaller of which he died.”[Bradney 1906, pp.458-459]
He was known in Monmouthshire as yr Hen Broffwyd (“the Old Prophet”), because of deep interest in astrology and his seemingly genuine gift of prophecy:
“He was noted in his district for foretelling things. He would, for instance, be asked to preach at some anniversary, or quarterly meeting, and he would answer, ‘I cannot, on that day; the rain will descend in torrents, and there will be no congregation.’ He would give the last mite he possessed to the needy, and tell his wife, ‘God will send a messenger with food and raiment at nine o'clock to-morrow.’ And so it would be.”[Sikes 1880, p. 105]
Edmund Jones’s parishioners always spoke of him as a fine preacher and kindly man. Despite his own poverty, he was known to have given his greatcoat and his shirt away to poor people he met on his travels.
In 1782, aged 80, he travelled 400 miles on foot in North Wales, preaching twice a day, every day. In 1789, at the age of 87 he preached 405 times! When he visited the local farms closer to home, he rode his beloved donkey, who was called “Shoned”.
Rev. Edmund Jones Birthplace
Bibliography
Bradney, J. 1906. A History of Monmouthshire: The Hundred of Abergavenny Vol. I, Pt 2b (9 vols; repr. Academy Books, 1992).
Sikes,Wirt. 1880. British Goblins: the Realm of Faerie (repr. Llannerch 1991).
