▶Date of birth:  (baptised) 6 June 1836        Place of birth: Llanwinio, Carmarthenshire, Wales

▶Father:  Thomas Lewis     Mother:  Anne Hancock

▶Spouse(s):  (unmarried)    Date(s) of marriage:       Place(s) of marriage:

▶Occupation: Clergyman

▶Lifestory: Lewis was the second son of farmer Thomas Lewis and his wife Anne. Brought up at Llanwinio, Carmarthenshire, he matriculated at Jesus College, Oxford in 1857, Moderations Passman 1859, BA 1860, MA 1864. He was ordained Deacon in 1864 and Priest (both St Asaph) in 1865; by 1866 he was licensed Curate of Bala, Merionethshire and by 1869 Curate of Chirk, Denbighshire.

Thereafter he no longer held an official position within the Church, and lived off his income (perhaps inherited on his father’s death in 1866), principally in Scotland, though he maintained a strong association with his native town of Llanwinio, contributing to the Church and to the Vicarage Building Fund. His association with Cheltenham seems to be accidental: he was boarding at 3 Blenheim Parade (now 7 Evesham Road), long retired from active participation in Church services, on census night 1901.

Six months before his death he returned to live at Llanwinio, with his nephew Richard Lewis, where he died, unmarried, and was buried, at the age of sixty-nine. He achieved considerable publicity in the newspapers by the conditions of his will, which required it not to be proved for a year, to give his relations time to repay their debts to him, advising them that “an honest man is the noblest work of God” (Burns), which was inscribed on his gravestone. His wealth at death was just over £11,500.

▶Moved to Pittville from: (uncertain)       Moved from Pittville to: (uncertain)

▶Date of death:  10 April 1906      Place of death:

▶Date of burial:         Place of burial:

▶Notes:  Pembrokeshire Herald 13 April 1906      ID: 3601

Contributor(s):  John Simpson