LLOYD, SIMON (1756 - 1836), Methodist cleric

Methodist cleric of Plas-yn-dre, Bala (which, says Edward Lhuyd, was the largest house in the town - it was in a storehouse attached to it that the Independents of Bala assembled before the building of their chapel); the Lloyd family of Plas-yn-dre were a branch of the Lloyd family of Rhiwaedog - and see J. E. Griffith, Pedigrees, 234, 383), and the name 'Simon' was hereditary. A SIMON LLOYD of Rhiwaedog (died 1711), who bought Plas-yn-dre and Moelygarnedd, married Anne Wynne of Llangynhafal, Denbighshire; their second son was ROWLAND LLOYD (died 1744), who married Winifred Pugh of Penrhyn Creuddyn, Caernarfonshire; of this marriage came SIMON LLOYD, christened 2 May 1730, and buried 5 December 1764. This Simon Lloyd came under the influence of Methodism, and went on a visit to Trevecka, where he fell in love with SARAH BOWEN (born 1727, died 29 April 1807), the first ' matron ' of the Trevecka Family. It was not without much trouble that Howel Harris was persuaded to assent to this marriage - or rather, possibly, to abandoning the capital which Sarah had brought into the family; however, on the intercession of John Evans of Bala (1723 - 1817), the marriage took place (the contract is printed in Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas Hanes y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd, x, 30-3). Sarah Bowen was of the family of Tyddyn, Llanidloes, well-known in the annals of Montgomeryshire Methodism - see Richard Bennett in Cylchgrawn Cymdeithas Hanes y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd, viii, 57-62, and frequent references in his Meth. Trefaldwyn Uchaf, and consult the index to John Wesley's Journals, ed. Curnock. Sarah Bowen (Lloyd) was succeeded as ' matron ' at Trevecka by her sister HANNAH BOWEN (1729 - 1805), who remained there till Mrs. Harris's death, and afterwards (1771) became ' matron ' of lady Huntingdon's college at Trevecka. Later, she married a William Powell of Wrexham, and died at Pwllheli.

Simon and Sarah Lloyd had six children. The fourth of these was LYDIA LLOYD, who married Thomas Foulkes. The eldest, Simon (born 1756), is the subject of the present notice. He is said to have been schooled at Bath, and a letter by Thomas Charles (D. E. Jenkins, Thomas Charles, i, 153) shows that he also went to Queen Elizabeth's school at Carmarthen. In April 1775 he went to Jesus College, Oxford, graduating in 1779 (Foster, Alumni Oxonienses). He was ordained, and was curate at Olveston from 1779 till 1783; then he obtained curacies at Llandegla and Bryneglwys, Denbighshire. He lost Bryneglwys in October 1783 for consorting with the Methodists, but retained Llandegla till 1788. It is often said that he was curate at Llangwm and Cerrig-y-drudion, but this is an error - he applied for these curacies, but that was before he left Olveston. On the other hand, it is certain that he was curate of his home parish of Llanycil, for a period whose beginning is uncertain but which lasted till 1800 despite his rector's dislike of Methodism (Jenkins, op. cit., ii, 402, etc.). In May 1800 he was invited by the parishioners of Llanuwchllyn to become curate there; the patron (Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn) assented after some hesitation, but the bishop (in November) flatly refused to institute him. From that time on Lloyd held no office in the Church (his means were ample for his needs), though he took services from time to time, down to 1811 at least. He was a bosom friend of Thomas Charles 's; there are many of their mutual letters in D. E. Jenkins's book, and it was Lloyd who wrote Charles's obituary notice in the Evangelical Magazine, 1815. He acquired great influence among North Wales Methodists - by 1811 he was (with Charles, and William Lloyd, 1771 - 1841) one of the only three Methodist clerics there. He was not an eloquent preacher, and indeed deprecated 'revivalism.' Though, as it happened, he took no actual part in the Methodist Ordination of 1811, it is known that he approved of it. He published in 1817 Amseryddiaeth Ysgrythyrol, and in 1828 a commentary on Revolutions; and in the years 1819-27 (see T. M. Jones, Llenyddiaeth fy Ngwlad, 76) edited the third series of Y Drysorfa . He married (1789) Bridget Price of Rhydcolomennod (Llangrannog, Cardiganshire), and they had eight children. He took considerable interest in improved methods of farming. The family estates remained in the possession of his descendants till very lately - see the list of Plas-yn-dre properties in Y Seren (Bala), 26 May 1951. Lloyd died 6 November 1836, and was buried in the family vault at Llanycil.

Author

• Emeritus Professor Robert Thomas Jenkins, (1881 - 1969)

Sources

• Besides the above references, consult index to D. E. Jenkins, Life of Thomas Charles (Denbigh 1908)
• Walter Davies, General view of the agriculture and domestic economy of North Wales containing the counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, Denbigh, Flint, Meirionydd, Montgomery. Drawn up and published by order of the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement, 129-30

Further Reading

• Wikipedia Article: Simon Lloyd

Images

• NLW: Hannah Gwynne, daughter of Rowland Lloyd and grand-daughter of Simon Lloyd, Plas-yn-Dre, Bala

Additional Links

• VIAF: 101576075
• Wikidata: Q7519221

Published date: 1959

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