SPURRELL
family, of
Carmarthen
,
printers
.
The first
Spurrell
to settle at
Carmarthen
was
JOHN
SPURRELL
,
Bath
, an
auctioneer
who also became
agent
for the estate of one of the branches of the
Mansel
family. He and his wife
Sarah
(
Singers
)
settled in the
Lower Market Street
(later
Hall Street
) during the
last quarter of the 18th cent.
They had a son,
RICHARD
SPURRELL
, who was
clerk
to the
Carmarthenshire county magistrates
and who m.
Elizabeth Margaretta
, daughter of
Thomas
Thomas
,
Frowen
, near
Llanboidy
.
WILLIAM
SPURRELL
(
1813
-
1889
),
printer and publisher
,
the third son of
Richard
and
Elizabeth
Spurrell
, was b.
30 July 1813
at
13 Quay Street
. From
1821 until 1829 or 1830
he was a
pupil in the
Queen Elizabeth grammar school
,
Carmarthen
. He was apprenticed,
1 Nov. 1830
, to
John Powell
Davies
,
58 King Street
,
Carmarthen
. On
27 July 1835
he went to
London
to work for
Bradbury and Evans
,
printers and publishers
. He returned to
Carmarthen
in
1840 (26 Aug.)
and
opened his own printing works
in
Spurrell Court
before the end of that year and in
King Street
in
1841
. Thenceforward he was busy
printing
and
publishing
, and establishing a high reputation as a
printer
. Some substantial works issued from his press, including a
Welsh-English dictionary
,
1848
, and an
English-Welsh dictionary
in
1853
. He also published a
Welsh
grammar (2nd ed.
1853
). He became the
editor
and the
owner
of
Yr Haul
in
1857
(first number
Jan. 1857
) and continued to publish that journal until
1884
; in
1862
he had begun to publish
Y Cyfaill Eglwysig
. Another work worthy of mention was
Carmarthen and its Neighbourhood
,
1860
(2nd ed.
1879
). As he was now a substantial
printer
and
publisher
it is not surprising that he was well acquainted with such
writers
as
Daniel Silvan
Evans
,
Morris
Williams
(
Nicander
)
,
John
Rowlands
(
Giraldus
)
(qq.v.), etc. He m.,
1846
,
Sarah
, daughter of
Evan
Walter
,
Bryn-bach
. Two of his sons became
clergymen
, a third was a
doctor
, whilst a fourth,
Walter
Spurrell
(below), joined him in the business. He d.
22 April 1889
.
WALTER
SPURRELL
(
1858
-
1934
),
printer and publisher
;
b.
19 Sept. 1858
, son of the above
William
Spurrell
. He also was educated at the
Queen Elizabeth grammar school
,
Carmarthen
, going afterwards to the
S. Davids cathedral school
and to
Liverpool college
. He joined his father in the business and soon showed that he was actuated by the same high ideals of craftsmanship. He m.,
19 Sept. 1893
,
Florence Mary
, daughter of
Frederick William
Turner
,
Stoke Newington
. Like his father,
Walter
Spurrell
took an active part in
Carmarthen
and
west Wales
affairs; he also maintained the publishing connection with the
Church in Wales
established by the father. He was one of the founders of the
Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society
. Among serial publications issued by
Walter
Spurrell
were the
West Wales Historical Records
(14 vols.,
1911-29
) and the
Journal
of the
Welsh Bibliographical Society
.
To many
Welsh
people the name of
Walter
Spurrell
is associated with the term ‘
Geiriadur Bodfan
,’ i.e.
John Bodvan
Anwyl
's edition, completely revised, of the dictionaries first published by
William
Spurrell
. The first
Bodvan
edition of the
Welsh-English dictionary
appeared in
1914
(it made the sixth edition of the original work); the ‘first Anwyl edition,’
1916
, of the
English-Welsh dictionary
represented the 7th edition of the work first published in
1853
. There have since been several new editions or impressions together with a ‘pocket edition’ (first published in
1919
).
Walter
Spurrell
d.
23 April 1934
.
Bibliography:
-
Main source has been
The House of Spurrell. By the Spurrell
Family
, with its cover-title of
W. Spurrell and Son, 1840-1940
.
Author:
Sir William Llewelyn Davies, M.A., LL.D., F.S.A. (1887-1952),
Aberystwyth
