Cylchgronau Cymru

Christopher Bassett and the Living of Cardiff Roger L. Brown Christopher Bassett (1753-84) is known as a methodist cleric whose early death from tuberculosis brought a promising life to an end. His significance is illustrated by the fact that William Williams, Pantycelyn, wrote an elegy to his memory, and David Jones, Llangan, published a booklet about his life, Llythyr oddiwrth Dafydd ab loan y Pererin at loan ab Gwilim y Prydydd (Trevecka, 1784). Little is known, however, about his life: J. M. Jones and William Morgan in their Y Tadau Methodistaidd (Abertawe, 1897) lament the shortness of their memoir of Bassett due to the lack of documentary material at their disposal. The situation has hardly changed. But among the papers of the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral, now at Gloucester Record Office, there are a number of letters relating to Bassett's candidature for the parish of St John's, Cardiff, in the patronage of that chapter. These provide not only further information about his life and family, but also give another illustration of the difficulties methodist clerics faced from their own church when they endeavoured to obtain preferment, even when, as in Bassett's case, they had some influential support to back their candidature. The Bassett Family Christopher Bassett was a member of a well known Glamorgan family. G. T. Clark in his Limbus Patrum: the Genealogies of Morgan and Glamorgan (London, 1886), notes numerous branches of the Basset(t) family. The best known branch was that of Beaupre: the other branches were probably cadets of this family, such as the Eglwys Brewis, Miscin, Llanelay, Llantrithyd and Llanveithin Bassetts. Another, and later, Christopher Bassett, then priest in charge of Monknash in the Vale of Glamorgan, wrote two parts of a projected but never completed series of Antiquarian Researches (Cowbridge, 1846) respecting the principal families of Glamorgan. One may note from this work not only the number of clergy produced by this family, but also that Christopher appeared to be a family name. Richard Bassett, of the Sigginstone branch, was rector of Eglwys Brewis (1832) and vicar of Colwinston (1843) and was the last cleric who consorted with the methodists. He died in 1852 and Edward Morgan of Syston wrote his memoir (Caernarvon, 1860). His daughter married John Leigh, a Llanfabon surgeon