Cylchgronau Cymru

John Tibbot, Clock and Watch Maker. IORWERTH C. PEATE, M.A., D.Sc., F.S.A. In the first half of the 18th century, there lived at Ty-croes, Pennarth,1 Llanfair Caereinion, a certain Richard Tibbot who is stated2 to have been a close relative of the Reverend Richard Tibbot of Llanbrynmair. In the same period there was born near Llangeitho in Cardiganshire a certain David Richards. David Richards was a cooper by trade and as a young man settled at Newtown to practise his craft. While there he met Mary Tibbot, sister of Richard Tibbot of Ty-croes. She was then a serving maid at Glasgoed, Bwlch-y-ffridd. In due course they were married, and about 1766 removed to Ty'r Elusen, Llanfair Caereinion, and later to Ty'n-y-fawnog. They were the first regular Independent Church members, at Llanfair and were attached to the church at Llanbrynmair, where they went regularly to com- munion. David Richards indeed assisted the Reverend Mr. Tibbot in his pastoral work3 and was later ordained minister of Sarnau. David and Mary Richards had seven children. One of them, David, was minister for sixty years at South Petherton in Somersetshire, and died in the forties of the 19th century. Another, John, was deacon for 54 years, 30 at Pennarth, where he assisted his uncle Richard Tibbot, and 24 at the neighbouring Siloh. He died in 1850, aged 90 years. Richard Tibbot's history during this time cannot be recorded in such detail. It appears-though for this I have no documentary evidence-that he had three children at least, John, William, and Elizabeth4. At least, John had a brother William and a sister Elizabeth (see below), and his cousinship with the Rev. David Richards makes it probable that he was the son of Richard. It is with John that this paper is principally concerned.- John 1. Pennarth (with two n's) is the correct form (cf. Pennant). It also distinguishes the place from Penarth, Glamorganshire. In Penarth, the accent is on the last syllable and the n is therefore not doubled. 2. Y Cenhadwr Americanaidd, 1852, p. 1. Richard Tibbotts,' one of the signatories of the 1733 Independent Church covenant, Llanbrynmair, may have been the Pennarth Richard Tibbot. The Llanbrynmair Richard Tibbot would have been only 14 years old at the time. 3. Hen Gapel, Llanbrynmair (1939), p. 45. 4. The Vicar of Llanfair Caereinion, the Rev. D. Hopkins Jones, informs me that there are no Tibbot entries in the Baptismal Registers for the years 1748-72, and that the only Tibbots in the list of burials are May 16th, 1769, William Tib- bot of Pennarth," and "May 29, 1784, Margaret Tibbot, widow, of Penarth." It seems likely that Richard Tibbot's family would appear in the register of the Hen Gapel Independent Church, Llanbrynmair. Unfortunately, the Hen Gapel baptismal register is from 1762 only.