Watkin Williams (bishop)
Bishop of Bangor (1845-1944)

Watkin Herbert Williams (died 19 November 1944) was Dean of St Asaph from 1892 to 1899. and Bishop of Bangor from 1899 to 1925.
Williams was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford and ordained in 1871. His first post was a curacy at Rhosllanerchrugog. He was vicar of Bodelwyddan from 1872 to 1892 and Archdeacon of St Asaph from 1889 to 1892.
He was a very active Freemason, initiated as a student in 1868 in Oxford's Apollo University Lodge. In Wales he joined the Royal Denbigh Lodge, and became its Worshipful Master in 1883, becoming Provincial Grand Chaplain for North Wales in the same year. He became the Grand Chaplain of the United Grand Lodge of England, the most senior clerical appointment in Freemasonry, in 1898.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Watkin Williams (bishop)” as bishop of Bangor (1845-1944). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as bishop of Bangor (1845-1944). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7974680. VIAF identifies the subject as 1960537. The Library of Congress control number is nb98031103. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1944, 1892, 1899 and 1925.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. 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
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Watkin Williams (bishop)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Watkin Williams (bishop) primary sources, Watkin Williams (bishop) archive and Watkin 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 “Watkin Williams (bishop)”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Watkin Williams (bishop)” 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.