WILLIAMS, WILLIAM (Carw Coch; 1808 - 1872), eisteddfodwr and man of letters

Name: William Williams
Pseudonym: Carw Coch
Date of birth: 1808
Date of death: 1872
Parent: Joan Williams
Parent: Noah Williams
Gender: Male
Occupation: eisteddfodwr and man of letters
Area of activity: Eisteddfod; Literature and Writing
Author: Robert Thomas Jenkins

Born 6 March 1808 near Aberpergwm in the Vale of Neath, the son of Noah and Joan Williams, who were members of the Unitarian congregation of Blaen Gwrach. At an early age he went to Tredegar, and thence to Llwydcoed, Aberdare, where, in 1832, he married a girl whose family had been settled in that neighbourhood for a long time. In 1837, he built the Stag Inn - hence his pseudonym - at Trecynon, where he spent the rest of his life. He was an ardent politician, a member of the society of 'Free Enquirers' at Aberdare, and a supporter of the Chartists, to whose Welsh journal, Udgorn Cymru, he was a contributor. He also sent articles to Yr Ymofynydd (he was a leading member of the Unitarian meeting-house at Trecynon), and was one of the founders of the newspaper Y Gwladgarwr (1857-83). In 1841 an eisteddfod was held at the Stag, and from that time on the 'Free Enquirers' became the 'Cymreigyddion of the Carw Coch' (Red Stag). People like Alaw Goch, Dr. Thomas Price, and, indeed, all the local poets and writers took part in the Carw Coch eisteddfod, which continued as an institution for many years. The fruit of one of the series (1853) was the volume Gardd Aberdâr, 1854, which contains, among other things, one of Carw Coch's essays. He died 26 September 1872, and was buried in S. Fagan's churchyard, Aberdare. Some of his works, prose and verse, were collected in a volume, Carw Coch, 1908.

Author

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.

Find out more on our sponsorship page.