Henry Richard Monument, Tregaron
Photos of the Henry Richard monument in the main town square in Tregaron. The monument depicts Richard standing in frock coat, poised as if about to speak. Holding sheaf of papers headed PEACE in right hand. Left arm flexed with hand holding ‘pince-nez’. Pedestal with moulded cornice and plinth.The monument was unveiled on 18 August 1893. There is a photo of this occasion on the Gathering the Jewels (GtJ) project website – click here.
According to the GtJ project : “Henry Richard (1812-88) was born in Tregaron, Cardiganshire. He was a Nonconformist minister in London before being elected the Liberal Member of Parliament for Merthyr Tydfil in 1868. He was known as ‘The Apostle of Peace’ in recognition of his work with the Peace Society. He was appointed secretary of the Society in 1848 and edited the Society newspaper, ‘Herald of Peace’. He also organised a series of peace conferences at a number of European cities during the period 1849-53.”
“The statue was designed by the sculptor Albert Toft. On the plaque beneath the statue is written in Welsh followed by English:
‘Born here in Tregaron, he was educated for the Christian ministry, and in 1835 he was ordained in London. In 1848 he was appointed secretary to the Peace Society gaining an international reputation as ‘The Apostle of Peace’. In 1868 he became M.P. for the Merthyr constituency: and such was his concern for Welsh affairs that he became known as ‘The Member for Wales’. He was also a prominent pioneer in education: he served on several commissions of enquiry, and in 1883 he became the first Vice-President of Cardiff University College “I have always been mindful of three things: not to forget the language of my country: and the people and cause of my country: and to neglect no opportunity of defending the character and promoting of the interests of my country”. “My hope for the abatement of the war system lies in permanent conviction of the people, rather than the policies of cabinets or the discussions of parliaments.”‘
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