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MEMOIRS OF AN OLD ST. PETER'S…

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MEMOIRS OF AN OLD ST. PETER'S VICAR. [BY T. W. BARKER, DibeFEa-v RE&ISTBAB.] I 1 have been asked to furnish some particulars of the life- of my great-grandfather, the Rev. William Higgb Barker, who was Yicar o £ St. Peter's, Car- marthen in the year when the JouRNAX. was first issued, and to give a few details with regard to the living ot St. Peter's at that time. A memoir of my great-grandfather's life, written im Ibid by my grandfather, the Rev. John Crawford Barker, gives a good deal of information which may be interesting to those who would like to know something about what we should now consider the .3(_ dark age of the Church in this Diocees. My great-grandfather, whom I propose to call the old vtcar, was born on the 25th February, 1743, anI educated ab St. Paul's School, where he was a contemporary of Dr. Paley, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in 1765. In the same year he became assistant Master and Fellow of Dulwich College, where he resided until he was ordained Priest by the Bishop of Winchester in 1767. About this time the Head Mastership of Carmarthen Grammar School became vacant, am he apphed for and obtained the post. The following is a copy of his appointment in the original spelling:— "The Borough of Carmarthen to wit at the Council Chamber, held at the New Bumper, in the said Borough, 22nd July, 1767. Be it remembered that on this Day We, the Mayor, Recorder, and Major part of the Common Council, having maturely considered the qualifies.- tions of the several candidates for the Mastership of the ffree Grammar School of Carmarthen, in consequence of a vacancy therein, Do approve of the Reverend Mr. William Higgs Barker, Fellow of Dulwich Colledge, Surry Clerk, to be a fit and proper person to be a Master of the said Free Grammar School, And we Do hereby .appoint him to be Master of the said Free Grammar School, And we Do hereby appoint him to be The Master of the said School and to receive the salary and all other Emoluments thereto belonging from Michaelmas Day next for so long time as he shall continue iaster,.thereof. j Yaugn. Horton, Mayor; Griff Phillips, Recorder; I Arthur Jones, Thos. Morris, Geo. Oakley, Williami Bowen, George Evans, Geo. Rice, Gwynn Davies, Edwd. Parry, Alex Seurlock, Albt. Bavids, Jno. Corrice (?). Corrice (?). The above is a true Coppy of the Original Order and appointment entered in the Book of Orders of the Mayor and Common 'Council of the Borough of Carmarthen. "JAMES NEWLAND, T. Clerk, 30th July, 1768. "I, William Higgs Barker, do declare that I do believe there is not any Transubstantiation in the Elements of Bread and Wine at or after the Con- secration thereof by any person whatsoever. WM. HIGGS BARKER." The Carmarthen Grammar School was, until the foundation of St. David's College, Lampeter, -he I chief Theological School of Instruction for Candi- dates for ordination in the Diocese of St. David's, and the old Vicar established a course of reading and lecturing in Divinity, and paid special attention to Elocution. That other were not neglected is shown by a printed advertisement, of which I have one of the original copies, and which read- as follows :— re4\ds as follows CARMARTHEN. Youth. Boarded and Educated by the Rev. W. H. Barker, M.A. £ s. d. £ s. d. Board per annum 15.15 0 English and the Classics per Quarter 0 10 6 Entrance. 0 10 6 Writing and Arithmetic 0 5 0 0 5 0 Drawing 0 10 "6 „ 0 lj) 6 Dancing 0 10 6 0 ™ 6 Lectures in Ex- per i m e n t a 1 Lectures in Ex- per i m e n t a 1 Philosophy 1 1 0 Parlour Boarders 21 0 0 I A Course of Lectures on Natural and Revealed Religion is read annually to the Divinity Class. Hereford:Printed by C. Pugh, 1783." My great-grandfather carried on the duties of 'Headmaster for nearly 30 years, and it is said that be hardly missed a day, and was always punctual in his attendance at the school. It was during that period that he published a Hebrew Grammar and a Hebrew Lexicon, both of which pagsed through two editions. From his position as Head Master of what was in fact the Diocesan Theological College, the old Vicar was naturally brought much into contact with the Bishops of St. David's, and it was in 1776 that he received his first Church preferment in the Diocese by being appointed to the Prebendal Stall of Llan- ddewi-Aberarth by Bishop Yorke, who was soon afterwards removed to the Diocese of Ely. In 1783 the old Vicar became Prebend of Bough- rood. in the Collegiate Church of Christ College, Brecon, in the gift of Dr. Smallwell, then Bishop of St. Da.vid's. This he resigned on being ap- pointed in the following year by the same Bishop to the Prebend and Vicarage of Llansaintffread, Radnorshire, both of which were vacated by him on his subsequent appointment in 1793 to the Rectory of Bleddfa, Radnorshire, and in 1795 to the Chancellorship of Christ College, Brecon. The Bishop in 1793 was Dr. Samuel Horsley, a most distinguished theologian, and the author of "Tracts in controversy with Dr. Priestly" on the Unitarian question. Gibbon, in Vol. I. of his Miscellaneous Works, says: "The Socinian Shield of Priestly has repeatedly been pierced by the jnighty spear of It is stated in the Memoir on the authority of the old Vicar's wife that when my grandfather was baptised he pulled off Bishop Horsley's wig to the great amusement of the congregation. On Bishop Horsley's translation to St. Asaph he was succeeded by the Honourable William Stuart, son of the Earl of Bute, and a great favourite of King George III., with whom he had been educated under the Earl's tutelage. On the recommendation of Bishop Beadon, the new Bishop appointed my great-grandfather his domestic and examining chap- lain, and shortly after this (in March, MT96) he resigned the Mastership of the Grammar School, and succeeded the Rev. John Rogers as Vie&r of St. Peter's, Carmarthen. In those days the see of St. David's was treated merely as a stepping stone to future preferment. As the Episcopal Act Books show, nearly all the institu- tions were carried out by the old Vicar and others under Commissions from the Bishop, and there is no doubt that most of the diocesan work fell on his shoulders. When Dr. Stuart was translated to the Archbishopric of Armagh he pressed my great-grand- father to accompany him to Ireland, and held out to him the prospect of an Irish Bishopric, but he declined to leave Wales. Dr. Stuart accordingly wrote to his successor recommending my great- grandfather as "the person best able to manage the diocese," and when Lord George Murray was conse- crated Bishop in December, 1800, the old Vicar was appointed his domestic chaplain, and resumed his usual duties and residence at Abergwili. I have a silver inkstand which was presented by Dr. Stuart to my great-grandfather, and is inscribed W. Stuart, D.D., Ap Armagh, 1800." Bishop Murray was a man of great mechanical invention, and had made some improvements in the telegraph which were adopted at the Sea Ports and the Admiralty. Owing to the practice then in vogue of leasing Diocesan lands at a low rent and a high premium, the income of the see did not exceed 21,300 when Dr. Murray became Bishop, and as he had a large family and a limited private income, and did not hold any preferment in com- mendam as was usually the case in the poorer sees, he soon became-involved in pecuniary troubles, which added to the cares of his chaplain. Bishop Murray endeavoured to introduce a Bill into Parliament to authorise him to cancel all the leases of Diocesan lands and to re-let them, but it was successfully .ppo.ed on the not unreasonable plea that it would interfere with existing rights. His failure in this respect, and his increased embarrasments, preyed on his mind, and he died suddenly in London in the year 1803. His second son became Bishop of Sodor and Man, aad was subsequently translated to Rochester. The new Bishop, Dr. Thomas Burgess, appointed my great-grandfather once more as Domestic Chap- lain, and he resumed his residence sft Abergwili until increasing age and declining health compelled him, a few years' before his death, to retire from all public duties. Of Dr. Burgess' great abilities it is unnecessary to speak in detail. He will be re- membered as the founder of St. David's College, Lampeter, for which purpose he set apart a tenth of his income. His example was followed in this respect by my great-grandfather and nearly all the beneficed clergy in the diocese who were able to afSord it. The old Vicar died on the 25th May, 1816. and there is a monument to his memory in St. Peter's Church, which bears the following inscription:— "Sacred to the memory of the Revd. William Higgs Barker, A.M., Chancellor of Brecon, Rector of Rlethvaugh, in the County of Radnor, and during twenty years Vicar of this parish, who died in peace and ciiarity with all men on the 25th of May, 1816, aged 73 years. Sincerely attached to his profession lie was most strictly conscientious in the discharge of its various duties. In the Desk and in the Pulpit, his earnest, animated, and impressive manner^ never failed to command the attention of his congregation. The variety of his acquirements in Biblical, classical and general iit-erature rendered his conversation highly instructive and amusing, and in the inter- course of domestic and social life it may be truly said that they who knew him best loved him most." He was succeeded in both of the livings of St. Peter's, Carmarthen and Bleddfa by the Rev. Evan Holiday, The late Archdeacon Bevan has pointed out more than once that the much abused practice of holding livings in plurality was often necessitated by the meagre income in those days, and the emolu- ments of Si. Peter's, Carmarthen, as will be shown directly, hardly afforded a living wage at that time. In 1810 the ecclesiastical parish of St. Peter's, Car- marthen, was co-extensive with the present limits of the Borough. The Church of Llanllwch was of course in existence and was treated as a separate Ichapelry. It was then served by,a curate, but there was no separate district assigned to it. The population of St. Peter's, Carmarthen, WAS, I believe, about 6,000, and there were two curates. Four services were held every Sunday at St. Peter's, Church, one in Welsh at 7 a.m., one. in English at 11 a.m., and two in the afternoon and evening at 3 and 6, in Welsh and English alternately. The income of the living amounted to less than £ 105 (including the surplice fees), and consisted of the following items:—(1) B7 charged on the tithe of the Borough: (2) £ & derived under various wills; (3) the rent of the White Horse Inn in Priory-street and ad- joining cottages, which seem to have formed part of the ancient possessions of the living; (4) the rent of two farms known as Usgwm and Pantgwm, in the parish of Llangathen, which had been bought in 1732 for JE600. made up of JB200 given by Mr. Richard Yaughan in 1715, a similar s-um of S200 appointed in 11732 by the Rev. John King, D.D., Master of Charterhouse, out of Mr. John Pierrepoint's estate, and £ 200 granted by the Governors. of Queen Anne's Bounty out of the Royal Bounty money to meet Mr. Vaughan's gift: and (5) the rent of a house and 20 acres of land in the parish of Llanarth, which had been bought, in 1738 for £ 200 also granted out of f'ne Royal Bounty money to meet the B200 appointed by the Rev. John King. It was not until 1844 that the ecclesiastical districts of St. David's, Carmarthen, and Llanllwch were formed out of the old parish of St. Peter's. St. David's Church was consecrated in 1841; Christ Church in 1869: and St. John's in 1890. litidg'f-street Schoolroom was so licensed for ser- vice in 1870. but upon St. John's Church being consecrated the license was revoked. Bridege-street. Schoolroom was so licensed for ser- vice in TS71 Towyside Mission Room in 1873, and the room in Cambrian-place in 1896.

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