Roberts, Richard
1823-1909; e.m. 1845

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He was born on 30 May 1823 at Machynlleth and brought up by Welsh relatives in Manchester. Having begun to preach in Welsh, he returned to Wales in 1841 and quickly gained popularity as a preacher. He trained at Didsbury College, intending to serve in the Welsh work, but was appointed to an English circuit and the whole of his subsequent ministry was spent in England, though he remained loyal to his first love. He became a prince of the English pulpit. A member of the Legal Hundred, in 1885 he was the first Welsh-speaking minister to become President of the WM Conference. He died at Kilburn, London on 28 November 1909.

Sources
  • Methodist Recorder, 2 Dec. 1909
  • Yr Eurgrawn Wesleyaidd, 101, pp.281-88; 102, pp.36, 62-5
  • Dinsdale T. Young, Richard Roberts: a memoir (1910)