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Part one of A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE WELSH CLERGY contains two sections, namely "The Route to Ordination" and "The Inferior Clergy". The first section describes the dilemma faced by the four Welsh dioceses of the Church of England, then part of the Province of Canterbury. The Church was impoverished, the native Welsh speakers (required for a Welsh-speaking Church) unable to afford a university education, and by the 19th century Nonconformity had made many inroads into the religious life of the nation. A substantial number of those ordained came from Nonconformist backgrounds, many from the counties of Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, and were educated in the divinity departments of grammar schools, enabling them to sit the bishops' examinations for ordination. Eventually St David's College, Lampeter, was opened to replace these schools and to provide a systematic training, though it was not without its critics. A number of other men were trained elsewhere in theological colleges and at the historic universities. The wider Church eventually imposed more professional standards of training. The last chapter describes the bishops' examinations, often held during the week before the actual ordination, so that some men were plucked at the last minute, and the generally carefree way in which ordinations were held. The second section, on the inferior clergy or curates, distinguishes between the perpetual curate, who served a parish whose main income went to a lay impropriator, and the stipendiary curate, who served for an absentee incumbent. Many of these men served as pluralists, and were poverty-stricken. By the early 19th century legislation brought about reform and ended these abuses, while a new breed of curate was becoming common, namely the assistant curate serving under a resident incumbent. The difficulties of their position, such as insecurity of tenure, are documented with numerous examples.

Part Two of A SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE WELSH CLERGY contains two sections, on Patronage and on the Income of the Clergy. The study relates to the four Welsh dioceses of the Church of England then in the Province of Canterbury. Patronage, or the right of appointing to a living, was often a source of great grievance for the clergy who desired a living of their own or a better living. Patronage was held by bishops, colleges, the Crown and the Lord Chancellor, as well as by numerous lay persons. This right was frequently abused. English-speaking clergy were appointed to Welsh-speaking parishes, though legislation later enabled bishops to refuse such appointments; nepotism prevailed, especially in the case of bishops and their relations; while livings could be sold or the next presentation sold, for which a sordid but lucrative market existed. Numerous case studies indicate the difficulties of those men, who lacking influence, endeavoured to obtain a parish of their own, and a significant minority never did so. The second section discusses the income of the beneficed clergy. Some parishes were wealthy, others pathetically poor, leading to a plurality of neighbouring parishes. Outgoings against income could be substantial. Many parishes had glebe land, farmed by the incumbent or let out, and some parishes benefited considerably by the enclosure movement increasing this glebe land. The income from the tithe varied considerably, was often subject to dispute, and was governed by local arrangements before it was commuted to a money payment. The fall in tithe income due to the agricultural depression of the 1870s, leading to further disputes and even the riots is fully documented. The augmentations made by Queen Anne's Bounty are fully noted, while the grants of the Ecclesiastical Commission to populous parishes in augmenting the stipend and the many difficulties of obtaining this assistance, receive chapters of their own, as do the other sources of finance, such as diocesan initiatives.