THE SACK OF THE JESUIT COLLEGE

Early in the 17th century, with the financial backing of the Somersets of Raglan Castle and the Morgans of Llantarnam, the Jesuit College of St Francis Xavier was established at a place called the Cwm, on the Monmouth/Hereford Border. The selfless and heroic priests there ministered to the Catholics in that area and for many years, despite the severe anti-Catholic Laws, went about their work unmolested. For the most part, the authorities were content to turn a blind eye to the practices of their Catholic neighbours, the “plant Mair” as they were sometimes called. There were, however, some who harboured such fierce hatred of Catholics that they would stop at nothing in their efforts to eradicate every last vestige of the Old Faith. One such was John Arnold of Llanvihangel Court. Arnold was a Justice of the Peace and Member of Parliament whose main ambition in life appears to be the rooting out and elimination of all things Catholic. In this ambition Arnold was wholeheartedly supported by John Scudamore of Kentchurch and Charles Price of Llanfoist.

John Arnold and a number of like minded Protestants presented to Parliament a detailed account of Catholic activities in Monmouth and Hereford. They claimed to be alarmed at the growing strength of popery in the region. Arnold and Scudamore appeared before the House of Commons to expound their already wide-ranging account of Catholic activities. Of course, the Cwm was mentioned but there was no suggestion of any political activity there. Then Titus Oates and his Popish Plot burst onto the scene! Originally, Fr David Lewis was the only Jesuit at the Cwm who was mentioned in the Plot. Later, when Chepstow born William Bedloe was inspired by monetary gain to throw in his lot with the perjurer Oates, Fr Charles Pritchard was accused of being one of the murderers of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey. Things became very dangerous for the priests at the Cwm so Fr Lewis, who was the Superior, decided to evacuate the College. The priests hurriedly hid books, altar plate, vestments, and anything relating to Catholic service and practice. Then they dispersed, some to the homes of loyal friends but most to battle with the rough terrain and pitiless weather conditions.

In December 1678 the Lords ordered an investigation of the Jesuit College. The Bishop of Hereford, Herbert Croft, was appointed to head this investigation and he was enthusiastically assisted by John Arnold, John Scudamore and Charles Price. By this time, apart from a few servants, the College was deserted. The miscreants gleefully went about their work, removing books and papers from a room which had a hidden entrance. The Government ordered that all Catholic books were to be burnt and, should any be retained, these were to be catalogued. Many books disappeared but more than a hundred still survive in the library of Hereford Cathedral. These stolen books had been taken there by Bishop Croft to replenish the Cathedral’s own depleted library.

A collection of altar plate seized in the raid came into the hands of Charles Price. Despite orders to the contrary, he refused to hand over the ill-gotten loot. The Privy Council commanded that all title deeds to Jesuit property should be sent immediately to Whitehall. However, nothing was forthcoming and Bishop Croft was ordered to appoint someone to administer the Cwm in the interest of the Crown.

The lease on the premises did not expire until 1737 but tragically the Cwm was never again occupied by a Jesuit presence. Most of the original College was demolished and, in 1830, the present house was built. Some oh so appropriate lines of T S Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral” come to mind; “From such ground springs that which forever renews the earth though it is forever denied.”

FATHER CHARLES PRITCHARD, S J

(THE CWM AS IT IS TODAY)

When the poison of the Oates Plot spewed over the country in 1678, Fr Charles Pritchard was one of the Jesuits at the College of St Francis Xavier at a place called the Cwm, near Llanrothal in Monmouthshire. This priest of “meekness and simplicity” was soon to be engulfed in a terrifying ordeal.

Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey was the London magistrate appointed to investigate the Oates Plot and when he was found dead in mysterious circumstances, Catholics came under suspicion. A reward of £500 was offered for the discovery of the murderer /murderers. It was then that the professional criminal and perjurer, William Bedloe, inspired by the reward of £500, came on the scene. In November, Bedloe appeared before the Lords and announced that Godfrey had been murdered by three Jesuits. One of the Jesuits, claimed Bedloe, was Fr Charles Pritchard. Since, as confirmed by the Jesuit Provincial letter for 1680, Fr Pritchard had been on the English mission for sixteen years and in all that time, he had never left South Wales, he could not have played a part in Godfrey’s murder in London. Bedloe, purporting to be a trusted emissary of the Jesuits, also declared that Fr Prichard was his informant! Of course, this was all fantasy, for why would the Jesuits, who carried out their ministry at great risk to themselves, trust a known felon and perjurer? However, with Oates and Bedloe avidly spreading their vicious lies and certain politicians using them to their own advantage, the ashes of anti Catholicism were soon fanned into a raging inferno.

Intoxicated with the celebrity status he was now enjoying and the success of his fabrications so far, Bedloe went on to dizzying heights of fictional accusations. He asserted that he had learned of plans for uprisings all over Wales and that every noteworthy Catholic in the country was aware of the plot. Some of this information, fanaticised Bedloe, had come from the Rector of the Cwm, Fr David Lewis. Fr Charles Pritchard, according to Bedloe, was to murder the Duke of Buckingham and Bedloe himself had been offered £4,000 to commit a murder!

The son of James and Elizabeth Pritchard, Charles Pritchard was born in 1637 at Blaen Llymman, Monmouthshire. He became a Jesuit in 1663 and around 1667 he embarked upon the English mission. He spent the remainder of his life ministering in the South Wales area, particularly Monmouth.

In light of the Oates Plot and Beldoe’s preposterous accusations, Fr Lewis grasped the gravity of the situation and decided to evacuate the Cwm, and the priests were dispersed. Some were sheltered by Catholic families but some had to take to hiding in woods and countryside.

Fr Pritchard now had a price on his head. A reward of 80 gold Crowns was offered for his capture and conviction. Despite this, for six months the priest was sheltered in the home of an unidentified faithful friend in the area of Monmouth. By day he remained hidden but at night Fr Pritchard emerged to attend to the needs of Catholic families in the area. Under such conditions, Fr Pritchard’s health suffered greatly and one dark night, whilst engaged in the visitation of his flock, he suffered a fall. As a result of this fall, the courageous Jesuit died in his friend’s house on 14th March 1680. He was buried secretly in the garden. At 43 years of age, Fr Charles Pritchard, S J, had given his life in the service of the oppressed Catholics of South Wales.

*FOR RELATED POSTS, SEE

http://lastwelshmartyr.blogspot.com/2010/07/jesuit-college-at-cwm.html

http://lastwelshmartyr.blogspot.com/2010/01/father-ignatius-price-s-j.html

THE JESUIT COLLEGE AT THE CWM

In 1595 Fr Robert Jones arrived in England. The Jesuit General, Aquaviva, had sent him to assist Fr Robert Persons, Prefect of the English Jesuits. Fr Persons wished to provide for the needs of the many faithful Catholics in Wales. By 1605, Fr Jones had established a Jesuit mission closely involving the Welsh Jesuits, the Welsh Secular clergy and recusant gentry. This was largely financed by the Morgans of Llantarnam. Lady Frances (Somerset) Morgan was one of Fr Jones’s converts and Fr Jones sometimes lived at Llantarnam. This financial support made it possible to maintain two Jesuits in North Wales and two in South Wales. When Fr Jones died in 1615, Fr John Salisbury succeeded him as Superior of the North and South Wales Districts. Raglan Castle was a major Catholic centre and Fr Salisbury went to live there. The generous and continued support of the Morgans of Llantarnam and the Somersets of Raglan Castle enabled him to lease and eventually buy the farm known as the Cwm and to found there in 1622 the Jesuit College of St Francis Xavier. Over the years, the College of St Francis Xavier housed many priests, Seminary priests as well as Jesuits. It is interesting to note that, according to Br Henry Foley, Fr John Lloyd and Fr David Lewis were together at the Cwm in 1655. Fr John Lloyd was a secular or seminary priest who was martyred at Cardiff just days before Fr Lewis was martyred at Usk.

(THE RUINED CHAPEL AT RAGLAN CASTLE - CLICK ON

PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM)

Fr David Lewis served two terms as Rector of the Cwm, 1667 – 1672 and again from 1674 – 1678. As early as 1660 the Government authorities had know of the existence of the College of St Francis Xavier at the Cwm. The priests went about openly and unmolested until Titus Oates exploded upon the scene in 1678. Titus Oates was a detestable character who hated Catholics in general and Jesuits in particular. He claimed to have uncovered a plot to restore Catholicism to England by murdering the King, Charles II, and putting his Catholic brother James Duke of York on the throne. The King himself did not believe a word of the Plot but among a populace that believed Catholics responsible for the Great Fire of London as well as the Plague, it was easy for certain politicians to use the plot to serve their own purposes. The Oates Plot took wings and before it had ended, many innocent Catholics up and down the country had lost life and liberty.

Only two Jesuits at the Cwm were named in the spurious plot, Fr Charles Prichard and the Rector, Fr David Lewis. Fr Lewis was aware of the seriousness of the situation and decided to evacuate the Cwm and the priests dispersed. Some found shelter with Catholic families but most had to hide in woods, barns or caves. Through it all, those courageous and faithful priests, travelling by night and on foot, ministered to their scattered flocks. The Government ordered the Bishop of Hereford, Herbert Croft, to investigate the Cwm and in December 1678, Croft, with the exuberant assistance of John Arnold, John Scudamore and Charles Price, raided the College. The buildings were ransacked and among items taken away were the books from the Cwm’s extensive library. Many of the books were stolen by Croft to restock the library of Hereford Cathedral, which had been rifled by Cromwell’s Roundheads. About 100 volumes can still be seen in Hereford Cathedral Library.

The lease on the Cwm did not expire until 1737 but after 1678, it was never again occupied by Jesuits. Eventually, the old house, which was said to have at least two priest holes, was demolished. In 1830 the present house was built. Today, the Cwm, nestled in gentle countryside, is a beautiful Bed and Breakfast Hotel. Catholicism in South Wales never fully recovered! Neither did it die out so the priests who tended the Catholics of Monmouth and the Welsh marches did not suffer or die in vain. The Faith lives on and their memory is revered.