Edward Williamson

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Edward William Williamson
Bishop of Swansea and Brecon
Church Church in Wales
In officeNovember 1939 to September 1953
Predecessor John Morgan
Successor Glyn Simon
Other post(s)
Orders
Ordination1914 (deacon)
1916 (priest)
Consecration30 November 1939
Personal details
Born
Edward William Williamson

22 April 1892
Died23 September 1953
Buried Brecon Cathedral
Denomination Anglicanism
Alma mater
A memorial plaque to Williamson in Brecon Cathedral Memorial plaque to Edward William Williamson, Brecon Cathedral, January 2019.jpg
A memorial plaque to Williamson in Brecon Cathedral

Edward William Williamson was the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales from 1939 until his death on 23 September 1953. [1] [2]

Williamson was born on 22 April 1892 as the only son to Edward Williamson, a solicitor in Cardiff, and Florence Frances Tipton. [3] [4] He was educated at The Cathedral School, Llandaff, Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, and was ordained in to the diaconate in 1914 and to the priesthood in 1916. [5] [6]

Williamson began his ordained ministry with curacies at St Martin's, Potternewton, and All Saints', South Lambeth, after which he was a lecturer at St Augustine's College, Canterbury. From 1926 to 1939 he was Warden of St Michael's Theological College, Llandaff, when he was appointed to the episcopate. [7] William served as Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Llandaff from 1931 to 1939, and was also a canon of Llandaff Cathedral from 1930 to 1937, assuming the office of Canon Chancellor in 1937. On 26 July 1949, as Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, he dedicated the new St Martin's Church, Dunvant, which was possibly the first church to be dedicated in Wales after the Second World War. Williamson died unmarried on 23 September 1953 and was buried in Brecon Cathedral. [8]

Williamson was also a noted scholar. In 1929, Williamson published a critical edition of Osbert of Clare's letters. Likewise, in 1930, Williamson published a history of Llandaff Cathedral. In 1948, he published his work, The Church in Wales. Williamson broadcast a Radio Lecture on Henry Vaughan in January 1953 that was subsequently published by the B.B.C in that year.

Works

References

  1. New Bishop of Asaph, The Times, 21 June 1950; pg. 4; Issue 51723; col F
  2. Obituary Bishop Of Swansea And Brecon Scholar And Antiquary, The Times, 24 September 1953; pg. 8; Issue 52735; col E
  3. “Who was Who” 1897-1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 ISBN   0-7136-3457-X
  4. Ellis, M. G., (2001). WILLIAMSON, EDWARD WILLIAM (1892 - 1953), Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 14 Nov 2024, from https://biography.wales/article/s2-WILL-WIL-1892 [accessed 29 August, 2025]
  5. Crockford's Clerical Directory1947-48 Oxford, OUP,1947
  6. Ellis, M. G., (2001). WILLIAMSON, EDWARD WILLIAM (1892 - 1953), Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 14 Nov 2024, from https://biography.wales/article/s2-WILL-WIL-1892 [accessed 29 August, 2025]
  7. Diocesan website
  8. Ellis, M. G., (2001). WILLIAMSON, EDWARD WILLIAM (1892 - 1953), Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 14 Nov 2024, from https://biography.wales/article/s2-WILL-WIL-1892 [accessed 29 August, 2025].
Church in Wales titles
Preceded by Bishop of Swansea and Brecon
19391953
Succeeded by