Thomas Richards (priest)
Welsh Anglican priest and writer
Thomas Richards (c.1687–1760) was a Welsh Anglican priest and writer.
Life
Richards was born in about 1687 in Llanychaearn, Cardiganshire, south Wales and educated at Jesus College, Oxford, where Joseph Trapp, the Oxford Professor of Poetry, described him as the best Latin poet since Virgil. Richards was ordained and was appointed as rector of Newtown in 1713. He became a canon of St Asaph's Cathedral in 1718, and rector of Llansannan in 1720 (a sinecure appointment). From 1718 until he died, he was additionally the rector of Llanfyllin Powys, Mid Wales. His literary contributions included translations of popular songs (from English to Welsh), an elegy on the death in 1737 of Queen Caroline (the wife of King George II), sermons and satires (including one called Hogland: or a description of Hampshire, in response to another author's satirical attack on Wales). He was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion in 1759. He died in 1760, and was buried in Llanfyllin.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Thomas Richards (priest)” as welsh Anglican priest and writer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as welsh Anglican priest and writer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 15, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7793510. VIAF identifies the subject as 66343231. The Library of Congress control number is nr93032886. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1687, 1760, 1713 and 1718.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Thomas Richards (priest)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Thomas Richards (priest) primary sources, Thomas Richards (priest) archive and Thomas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thomas Richards (priest)”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Richards (priest)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.