ROWLANDS
,
HENRY
(
1655
-
1723
),
antiquary
;
b. at
Plas Gwyn
,
Llanedwen
,
Anglesey
, son of
William
Rowlands
and
Magdaline
, daughter of
Edward
Wynne
of
Penhesgyn Isa
,
Llansadwrn
. There is no record of his having been to any school or college and the inference is that he was educated at home. He was ordained
deacon
2 July 1682
and
priest
a fortnight later. In
1682
he was given the living of
Llanfair-pwll
and
Llantysilio
, and in
1696
, that of
Llanidan
together with
Llanedwen
,
Llanddaniel-fab
, and
Llanfair-yn-y-cwmwd
. His first book was
Idea Agriculturae
which was written in
1704
, but remained in manuscript until
1764
. This describes the state of agriculture in
Anglesey
and tells us the methods adopted to improve the soil. He wrote his next work,
Antiquilates Parochiales
, in
Latin
in
1710
. A partial translation of this was published in the
Cambro-Briton
(vol. 2) and this was all that was available until it all appeared in
Arch. Camb.
[
1846-9
.] The
author
's intention was to make a survey of all the ancient remains in the county but only part of the work was finished.
Rowlands
, in one of his letters (
N.L.W. Plas Gwyn MS. 105
), refers to a second edition of his book on fossils, but nothing is known about this work. His most important work was
Mona Antiqua Restaurata
, which was published in
Dublin
in
1723
, a second impression being issued in
1766
under the editorship of
Dr.
Henry
Owen
(
1716
-
1795
)
. In this work the principal relics of the past are listed and an effort is made to prove that
Anglesey
was the chief seat of the
druids
. He was not successful in his attempt to trace the derivation of
Welsh
words. He corresponded with
Edward
Lhuyd
,
Browne
Willis
, and other leading
antiquaries
, and his influence on his contemporaries was marked. It is true that many of his theories were incorrect but it must be remembered that he was a
pioneer
. We are indebted to him for
preserving the history of a number of places of antiquarian importance
which would have been unknown to us but for his writings. He d.
21 Nov. 1723
.
Bibliography:
-
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
, and the authorities named therein;
-
Eminent Welshmen
, 1908
;
-
Richard Parry (Gwalchmai)
Enwogion Môn
, 1877
, 153-4;
-
W. Garel Jones
, M.A. thesis,
1936
(unpublished), in N.L.W., ‘The Life and Works of Henry Rowlands.’
Author:
Rev. Canon Evan Gilbert Wright, M.A., B.D., (1903-1993/4), Bangor
