St David Lewis

Tad y Tlodion - Father of the Poor
Hanged, drawn and quartered for his faith.

Born in Abergavenny in 1616, David Lewis was the youngest of nine children of Reverend Morgan Lewis, the Protestant headmaster of King Henry VIII grammar school, and Margaret Pritchard, a Catholic.

He was ordained a Catholic priest on 20 July 1642, joining the Society of Jesus three years later. For more than 30 years he served Catholic communities in Usk, Abergavenny and the surrounding areas, and was known as Tad y Tlodion or Father of the Poor.

Both David Lewis and Phillip Evans, another local Catholic priest, regularly held mass in the chapel at Gunter Mansion. Following the King’s proclamation outlawing Catholic practice in 1678, both were arrested, tried and condemned to death.

David Lewis became the last Catholic martyr in Wales when he suffered the gruesome death of being hanged, drawn and quartered on 27 August 1679. A plaque in Usk marks the place of his execution.

Within the international Catholic Church these executions have taken on great significance with David Lewis and Phillip Evans subsequently being made saints on account of their martyrdom.

You can find out more about David Lewis, Phillip Evans and other Catholic martyrs in our article The Catholic priests.