1904 RELIGIOUS REVIVAL AND ITS IMPACT UPON PEMBREY AND BURRY PORT

Previous Revivals

There had been previous revivals in Wales which had resulted in many conversions and changes in society. Much of the leadership was linked to the Calvinistic Methodist or Presbyterian church of Wales. During the 18^th century an evangelical revival was led by Methodist preachers such as Daniel Rowland, William Williams and Howell Harris and this led to the establishment of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist church and the revitalization of religious life in Wales.

In the 19^th century there were a number of revivals – the two most notable taking place in 1859-60 and in 1882-3. In the former a Wesleyan Methodist preacher, the Rev. Humphrey Jones, returned home to Wales from America, where revival was happening, and held mission services in north Cardiganshire which led to revival meetings throughout south Wales adding up to 100,000 to the membership of the chapels.  In the latter the preaching of Richard Owen in Anglesey resulted in outbursts of joyful praise and many people confessing faith in Christ. This took place mainly in north Wales but the evangelistic team also travelled to south Wales and it was claimed up to 800 people were converted. (For more information about the many revival situations see Eifion Evans pp. 9-21)

Spiritual Climate

At the end of the nineteenth century many would argue that there was decline in the spiritual condition of Wales. Church membership and Sunday service attendance were down with the Calvinistic Methodists in the north of the country reporting a loss of almost 13,000 members. Yet there were church leaders and groups of people who had a hunger for revival and laid a foundation for it in their extensive prayer meetings and prayer cells across many countries.  In 1902 Dean David Howell of Wales declared that the chief need of his country was a spiritual revival through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, London journalist W.T. Stead reported a growing sense of longing and burden of prayer for revival ( See W.T. Stead, p.57). He described sporadic and spontaneous prayer in remote country hamlets, in mining villages where individuals would be inspired to pray that the Holy Spirit might be poured out. It was not organised nationally, but local prayer circles arose which eventually became the preparation for the coming revival. The churches began to believe there was something in the air.

Keswick Conventions were popular in England for the deepening of the spiritual life and a similar event in Llandrindod Wells with speaker Dr. F.B. Meyer moved many pastors to pray for a religious awakening and organise missions across the country. Many would suggest that the Keswick experience was the spark for the revival. In addition, there were evangelists travelling around the country: for example, John Pugh and Seth Joshua as part of the ‘Forward Movement’, and evangelistic movement of the Calvinistic Methodist Church.  

Evans (p. 35ff)  explains how for many people in the churches such ‘seasons of refreshing’ come at a time of spiritual crisis when religion is at a premium and spirituality scarce. He emphasizes particularly the liberalizing tendencies in theology and the acceptance of the prevalent German higher criticism of the Scriptures as well as the psychological interpretation of Christian experience. The latter was to be found in the controversial ‘Varieties of Religious Experience’ by William James, published in 1902, in which religious experience is held to belong to the realm of subconscious emotional excitement. Evans suggests that by 1904 liberalism had made a significant impact upon the Christian ministry in the churches resulting in their spiritual bankruptcy. It was pointed out at the time that attendance at Sunday services was low and that there was a decline in Bible reading and family worship. Central concepts, such as conviction, conversion, repentance etc. were missing and the authority of the Bible and the fundamental truths of Christianity were weighed in the balance of reason and human opinions. The remedy was seen as “a penitent and humble pleading with God for another divine visitation in revival throughout the land”.

1904 Revival – the Beginnings

A seminal moment took place in a Newquay Cardiganshire church in February 1904. The pastor, Rev. Joseph Jenkins, had been praying for the young people in the church and one Sunday, in response to his question “What does Jesus Christ mean to you” Florrie Evans, who had been converted two weeks previously, said: “I love the Lord Jesus with all my heart.” The effect was electric – a powerful awareness of God’s presence and a desire to share the blessing with other local churches. The revival had begun.

In September 1904 Seth Joshua visited the church of Joseph Jenkins and wrote over the few days in his diary: “I have never seen the power of the Holy Spirit so powerfully manifested among the people as at this place just now . . . It was easy to preach today.” “Revival is breaking out here in greater power. Many souls are receiving full assurance of salvation …..the young are receiving the greatest measure of blessing. They break out into prayer, praise, testimony and exhortation in a wonderful way.” He recounts how services went on until the early hours and forty conversions took place. Others were seeking assurance having been converted previously.

Seth Joshua also visited Newcastle-Emlyn, a preparatory school for Trefeca College and the Presbyterian Ministry, where he became discouraged at the lack of enthusiasm and assurance. But when later some young people came from New Quay to talk to the students “….the Holy Spirit led them. The fire burned all before it. Souls were melted and many cried out for salvation.”

It was at a conference at Blaenannerch, Aberporth, 8 miles away from Newcastle Emlyn, that Joshua and Jenkins met up with the young man who was to become central in the revival. Evan Roberts was 26 years of age and a former coal miner born into a devout Welsh Calvinistic Methodist family. Roberts had been praying for revival and was preparing for the ministry when he experienced, on a regular basis, extraordinary experiences of communion with God which kept him awake most nights.

On Thursday, September 29th, Evan Roberts and a group of students attended a meeting at the Blaenannerch conference. DM Phillips  has a detailed account of the extraordinary events of that day. Evans had felt confused on the journey –  joyous, gloomy, hard – but when Seth Joshua closed the service with the words: “O Lord do this, and this, and this, and bend us”, it was the ‘bend us’ (the idea of total surrender) that the Holy Spirit laid the emphasis on, according to Roberts. “I felt in going to the meeting that I was compelled to pray. When the meeting commenced many prayed, and I asked the Holy Spirit, ” shall I pray now?” ” No,” said the Spirit in answer. Shortly some wonderful influence came over me. After many had prayed I felt some living energy or force entering my bosom, it held my breath, my legs trembled terribly; this living energy increased and increased as one after the other prayed until it nearly burst me, and as each finished I asked “Shall I pray now?” When someone finished, I prayed. My bosom boiled all through, and had it not been that I prayed, I would have burst. What boiled my bosom? The verse, “for God commendeth His love.” I fell on my knees, with my arms outstretched on the seat before me, the perspiration poured down my face and my tears streamed quickly until I thought that the blood came out. Soon Mrs.Davies, Mona, New Quay, came to wipe my perspiration. ………I cried -” Bend me, bend me, bend us …. It was God commending His love that bent me, and I not seeing anything in Him to commend. After I was bent, a wave of peace filled my bosom. When I was in this feeling the audience sang heartily:” I am coming, Lord! Coming now to Thee!”

Afterwards Roberts describes how he was filled with sympathy for the people who will have to bend in the judgment day, and he wept. He felt on fire to travel throughout Wales “to tell the people about the Saviour”. Blaenannerch was the beginning of a great adventure which changed the spiritual face of Wales. (Eifion Evansp.71)  Unable to settle down to his studies in Newcastle Emlyn Roberts began to gather together a team to visit towns and villages to take the message of the gospel. On the team was Sydney Evans and the young women of Newquay. First, they spent time in Bible reading and prayer and weeping. Evans continued to have visions of how the kingdom of God would be extended, including the vision of 100,000 people to be won for Christ. The emphases of his future ministry were: obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit; confession and restitution with the full assurance of faith; the priority of prayer; the pre-eminence of Christ in all things.

In October 1904 he began to think seriously about his home church at Loughor and the young people there. He believed that they were reticent in prayer, ignorant of the Holy Spirit and lacking in peace, joy, assurance of forgiveness and power. He determined to return home for a week of meetings among the people of his church in Loughor. He had been moved by the kind of visions he had received which included the awful reality of hell, the victory of Christ over the devil, the prince of this world rejoicing in his despondency, the moon with a great brilliance reflecting the divine presence and stretching an arm out towards the world. The vision which confirmed his call to return to his hometown involved rows of his old friends and the young people in the school room and felt called to ‘go and speak to these people’. His family were concerned about his mental stability in the light of his excited laughter in the spirit and his uncontrolled weeping over the state of the country. Yet many of the young people were baptized in the Holy Spirit and this was the beginning of a series of remarkable experiences and a journey through many towns and villages of Wales.

Newspaper Reports

A number of newspapers, and especially the Western Mail, followed the events of the 1904 revival. The first account, on 11th November 1904, is worth reading since it provides a perspective from outside the church context. It also indicates the pattern of what happened in most of the other meetings of the revival. I summarise it below in italics.

The meetings, held every night at Loughor Calvinistic Methodist church, were attended by dense crowds and each of them continued well into the early hours of the next morning. Led by Evan Roberts, who was described as moving the whole community by his remarkable utterances, scores of people who had never attended church were making public confessions of faith. The revival was on everyone’s tongue -colliers, tinplate workers, shopkeeper, merchants, and all classes of the community came to listen to the words declared to be revealed to Roberts by the Holy Spirit.

At Brynteg Congregational Chapel in Gorseinon there were remarkable scenes as before in Loughor with meetings starting at 7.00pm and finishing at 4.30 am in which people were “under the influence of deep religious fervour and exultation”.  400 people packed the chapel and the meeting did not follow a traditional set order of proceedings. Everything was left to spontaneous impulses – a young woman rose to give out a hymn which was sung with earnestness; a young man read a portion of scripture; from the gallery came an impassioned prayer from a woman crying aloud that she had repented and was determined to live a better life. While this was happening Evan Roberts went in and out among the congregation, Bible in hand, offering kindly words of advice to kneeling penitents. He might pray for someone seeking conversion and encourage the congregation to join him in the following prayer in Welsh: “Send the Holy Spirit now for Jesus Christ’s sake, amen”. The prayer would be repeated about a dozen times by all present and the would-be convert would suddenly rise and declare with triumph that salvation had been received. The people would then sing joyously.

Roberts was tall and distinguished looking with an intellectual air about his clean-shaven face. His eyes were piercing n their brightness and the pallor of his face suggested that these nightly vigils were telling on him. There was nothing theatrical about his preaching and he does not seek to terrify his hearers with eternal torment. Rather he reasons with the people and shows them by persuasion a more excellent way. He often shared visions he had experienced and sometimes the whole congregation fell upon the knees praying with Mr. Roberts giving way to tears at the sight.

The Revival Spreads

Following the intense activity at Loughor the revival meetings spread out from that immediate area into the rest of Wales. Early meetings took place at Trecynon on 15th November, a village near Aberdare, at Pontycymmer, Bridgend, Mountain Ash, Ynysybwl and reaching the Rhondda valley churches before Christmas.  The fervour spread further in 1905 with Evan Roberts and his team eventually taking in north Wales and Anglesey.

However, the revival and movement throughout Wales was not entirely dependent upon Evan Roberts: prayer meetings and area meetings provided a stimulus for further growth and the pattern of the meetings still reflected the spontaneity of people in the congregation in their prayer, singing and spiritual confessions rather than the rhetoric of the preacher.

Local activity in Pembrey and Burry Port

George Lewis in his autobiography ‘From Burry Port to Bedwas’ gives some insight into the impact of the 1904 revival in relation to the chapel he attended in Burry Port – Bethany Calvinistic Methodist in New Street. He was 14 years of age at the time. He describes a strange effect that it had on some people who had never spoken a word in chapel, but now were praying and taking part in the services which went on for hours. He recalled that after they left the chapels they would keep on singing and repeating Diolch Iddo – ‘thanks be to him’. Indeed, the services were mainly prayers, hymns and confessions and not sermons. The effects spilled over into the mines where it was not uncommon to see someone go down on their knees to pray and for groups to sing a popular hymn. He mentions one collier “who was the biggest boozer ever, who had come under this religious spell. I never heard anybody pray like him, the fluency of his words being better than many a professional minister”. (page 71)

A number of examples are given by George Lewis of the impact of the revival meetings upon people in the community. The public houses were practically empty and many of the publicans attended the meetings where the pattern used by Evan Roberts (although he was not present) was followed – prayers, singing of hymns and testimonies of conversions. Some of the effects seemed to a 14-year-old Lewis quite odd. Two brothers in the chapel were particularly touched and in the big seat sent imaginary telephone messages to heaven on their knees. A neighbour would go down the cellar most of the day singing quietly Dros bechadur luost farw – ‘For a sinner thou hast died’ which resulted in her husband seeking some peace in his mother’s house. Another neighbour tried to fly to heaven from the top of her garden hedge but landed in a ditch. However, Lewis at his young age agreed that it was the work of the Holy Spirit and that “it was a wonderful experience for me to witness and the result, a good number were saved and converted and a good number went back to their evil ways”. (page 85)

The Evening Express of 25^th February 1905 reported that prayer meetings were held nightly at most of the places of worship in Burry Port and Pembrey. Most activity in the town seemed to have taken place at Tabernacle Welsh Baptist Chapel in Sea View Terrace, Burry Port. The account suggested that the revival had taken “deep root” in the church and recently twenty converts were baptised by the pastor – Rev R. Ellis Williams – and that “the church was packed and the service was very impressive”. 

In the Evening Express and Evening Mail of June 21, 1905 the church anniversary was led by Rev. D. Charles of Bangor and T. Jones of Llanelli with “satisfactory preaching and collections”. It is reported that the “aftermath of the revival seems to be ripe at Burry Port already” and a further meeting was held after the service on Sunday night at the Calvinistic Methodist church under the leadership of the deacons assisted by the minister in charge for the day, the Rev. J.B. Thomas of Carmarthen. People shared their experiences with the congregation, revival hymns were sung and with “Miss Peregrine playing in splendid form all day”. The impact of the revival continued throughout the year with 20 baptisms carried out at Tabernacle in December 1905 by Rev. R.E. Williams and 100 additions made to the church over the last three months. (Welshman 15^th December 1905).

Other newspaper accounts at the time provided some indication of numbers who were converted as a result of the meetings, although numbers and dates varied between papers.  The Evening Express in December 1904 suggested that the numbers for Burry Port were 290 and Pembrey and Pwll 160, whereas the Cardiff Times 18^th February 1905 in its list of conversions during the revival had the figure of 254 for Burry Port. The highest figures were for Abertillery, Six Bells and Cwmtillery (3,000) and Maesteg (2,115). In March 1905 the estimated number of conversions throughout Wales was over 84,000.

(The Welshman 28^th April 1905) At the annual meetings of the Cardigan and Carmarthen Association of Baptist churches at the Graig Chapel, Newcastle Emlyn, the secretary reported that the number of converts added to the churches of the Association as a result of the revival had reached the figure of 2500, and for the whole of the Baptist cause in Wales the increase totalled no less than 40,000. The president emphasized that it was the duty of the strong churches to give sympathy and support to the weak churches pointing out that some of the ablest ministers and missionaries had been reared in the week at churches. Also, it was their duty to establish new churches in every village throughout the two counties, and in order to do this they must treble the contributions of the churches.

To be continued with any further local information from church archives and family reminiscences.

Effects of the Revival

Commentators on the Revival suggest that these are the main results from the events of the two years 1904-5.

• Theologically and in worship and Christian living there was a refocusing on the Holy Spirit. People were urged to receive the Spirit or be baptised in the Spirit in addition to believing. The church was able to explore the work of the Spirit in power, enthusiasm, spontaneity, guidance, mission etc.
• Chapels were crowded, everyone was talking about the remarkable events and church worship was transformed from the more traditional formality, routine and even coldness to energy, fervour and spontaneity in prayer and singing.
• Challenged by their new spiritual experiences friends restored relationships, husbands returned their wives, thieves returned what they had stolen, the pubs were largely empty, pit ponies were unable to understand a vocabulary void of swearing, crime reduced drastically.
• The Apostolic Church in Wales grew from the Welsh Revival and George Jeffreys, the founder of the Elim Pentecostal church was converted in the Revival.

SOURCES

1. The 1904 Revival in Wales, Michael D. Fortner, Great Plains Press, 2012
2. A Diary of Revival, Kevin Adams, CWR, Farnham, 2004
3. The Welsh Revival of 1904, Eifion Evans, Bryntirion Press, Bridgend, 1969.
4. Voices from the Welsh Revival, Brynmor P. Jones, Evangelical Press of Wales, Bridgend, 1995
5. From Burry Port to Bedwas, George Lewis, PublishandPrint, 2024.
6. The 1904 Revival in Wales, Michael D. Fortner, Great Plains Press, 2012                                                                                      7. ‘ The Revival In The West’, in The Revival of 1905 – (London: “The Review of Reviews” Publishing Office, 1905). (Internet         Archive), W.T.Stead.                                                                                                                                                                                8. Various newspaper reports from 1904-5