EVANS
,
THOMAS CHRISTOPHER
(
Cadrawd
;
1846
-
1918
),
antiquary and folk-lorist
;
b.
28 Dec. 1846
(chr. ‘
Thomas
,’ simply), son of
Thomas
Evans
,
parish clerk
of
Llan-gynwyd, Glam.
, and his wife
Jane
. The father (d.
30 Dec. 1877
, aged seventy-five) was an
Anglican
, but the mother a
Methodist
; the home welcomed
Methodist preachers
— see the descriptions of it by
Edward
Matthews
(q.v.)
of
Ewenny
, in
Y Cylchgrawn
, particularly in the number for
Feb. 1878
.
Mrs.
Mary Pendrill
Llewelyn
(q.v.)
, the
vicar
's wife, encouraged the boy to browse in the vicarage library, and her championship of the traditional story of the ‘
Maid of Cefn Ydfa
’ was implicitly accepted by her protégé in all his writings; even in
1894
he defended the tradition against the criticisms of
Dafydd Morgannwg
(
D. W.
Jones
, q.v.)
. He became a
blacksmith
; though in his early years he twice went to
Pittsburgh
, he returned to
Llangynwyd
to spend the rest of his life; he m.
Elizabeth
Thomas
(of
Carmarthen
); they had several children. They lived at ‘
Tŷ Cynwyd
’ near the parish church, and
Cadrawd
filled the house with old furniture, old farm implements, and rural craftsmen's gear — much of his collection is now in the
National Museum of Wales
, while many of his books are in the
Cardiff City Library
, and others in the library of
Swansea University College
. He d.
[24] July, 1918
and was buried in
Llangynwyd
churchyard, alongside the grave of
Samuel
Jones
(
1628
-
1697
) (q.v.)
of
Brynllywarch
. His widow received a small
Civil List pension
.
Cadrawd
was a
prolific writer on local history
; much of his work appeared in
Cyfaill yr Aelwyd
,
Cymru (O.M.E.)
, and the
Cardiff
newspapers. He published in
1887
his well-known
History of the Parish of Llangynwyd
. His prize essay at the
1885
(Aberdare) national eisteddfod
was printed in the transactions of that eisteddfod; it is an extensive collection of
Glamorgan
folk-lore, and includes the fullest printed collection of
Glamorgan
triban
verses
. Other eisteddfodic prizes, and a
gold medal
, were awarded him. In
1910
he edited (with
L. J. Hopkin
James
, q.v.)
Hen Gwndidau
, a collection of old religious poetry; and in
1913
a volume of selections from
Iolo Morganwg
(in
O. M.
Edwards
's ‘
Cyfres y Fil
’). He kept up a correspondence (now in the
Cardiff City
Library
) with a wide circle of
scholars
, e.g.
Sir
John
Rhys
(q.v.)
and
Sir
Joseph
Bradney
(q.v.)
, with whom he stayed for some time during the preparation of the
History of Monmouthshire
.
Bibliography:
-
Y Geninen
,
March 1919
;
-
G. J. Williams
, in
Y Llenor
,
1927-8
;
- family information.
Author:
David Myrddin Lloyd, M.A., (1909-81), Aberystwyth / Scotland
