Culture
It is 100 hundred years this year since the outbreak of the last of the great Welsh revivals. The 1904 Welsh revival had a huge impact on Welsh national life and national identity. As the last of a long string of revivals that spread throughout the 19th Century, it defined the national character, affected politics and national life and still resonates today.
The preaching was led principally by Evan Roberts a Theology Student of some 26 years, and a former miner from Loughor near Swansea. The Revival spread like fire in the the thatch throughout Wales between February 1904 and March 1905. There were immediate and far-reaching consequences of the revival, such as the emptying of public houses and people giving up sports and games, as well as dramtic drops in an already low crime rate.
Roberts soon gained a vast following, and he was reporeted to be both intelligent and charismatic. New hymns and songs were composed including 'I Achub Hen Rebel', the Welsh translation of 'To save a poor sinner', which is still recognised today as the hymn of the '04-'05 Revival.
The Revival also led to a small industry in booklets, articles, postcards and pamphlets chronicling the latest events, many of which are in the collection of the National Library, which is holding an exhibition to commemorate this centenary. The Library collection also contains Evan Roberts' original Bible, which he took daily to the Broad Oak coalmine, Loughor.