| John Williams, Archdeacon of Cardigan, first rector of the Edinburgh Academy and first warden of Llandovery was born at Ystradmeurig, the site of a remarkable school in the mid 19th century. It became the leading school in Wales, and rose to the position of a divinity school. John Williams was educated there.
He taught in a school in Chiswick for three years before moving to Ludlow, and from there he proceeded to Balliol College, Oxford. Like Dr Thomas Arnold, who was one of his four companions in the first class, Williams chose for himself the career of a public-school master, commencing his career at Winchester. He returned to Wales when offered the vicarage of Lampeter, where St David’s College was established in 1822.
Such was the reputation of Williams that the second son of Sir Walter Scott was sent to Lampeter as a private pupil, and several other Scottish pupils were to follow. In 1824 Williams was invited to become the headmaster of the new Academy founded at Edinburgh, whose aims were to raise the standard of classical education and especially of Greek learning. He retired |
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from the rectorship of the Academy in 1847. His reputation had been high. Sir Walter Scott was to eulogise him as “a heaven-born teacher” and “the best schoolmaster in Europe”.
Williams longed for some suitable opening for undertaking educational work in Wales, and within a few weeks after his retirement from the rectorship he was appointed the first warden of Llandovery. Ill health caused him to retire from the wardenship in 1853, but not before he had raised Llandovery to a foremost position among the schools of Wales. The remaining years of his life were devoted chiefly to literary work. |