This substantial, attractive volume is the result of decades of research and reading on the part of the author. Although a native of rural Cardiganshire, he has served as a highly respected Calvinistic Methodist minister at Liverpool since 1968, and in July 2018 became a Citizen of Honour of Liverpool.From the beginning, the author became interested in the history of his adopted city and Merseyside more generally, both of which have a substantial Welsh presence mainly from the eighteenth century, many of these people earning a living in the citys docks, its vibrant commercial life and its various industrial enterprises, notably the flourishing cotton factories.But, as the author shows, there was a Welsh presence in Liverpool from the early middle ages, and a more substantial number of vagrants, greatly despised and often badly treated locally, from the sixteenth century. In the early 1500s, Liverpool actually had a Welsh mayor one Dafydd ap Gruffydd while in the late 1700s many migrants from north Wales travelled to the city looking for work. And chapter 5 of this work is devoted to the problems faced by the Welsh poor within the city, especially the intrinsic difficulty of securing employment such as in the docks.It is gratifying that the present work, an adaptation of the authors previous publication, Hanes Rhyfeddol Cymry Lerpwl (Y Lolfa, 2019), will be within the reach of second and third generation Welsh migrants who have little or no grasp of the Welsh language. In 1813 around 8000 people ten per cent of the residents of Liverpool were Welsh.

They created communities around the city, and Welsh was the dominant language in those places. The Welsh influence in Liverpool declined during the twentieth century. According to the 2001 census, around 1.17 per cent of the population were born in Wales, but there are plenty more people in the city who have Welsh ancestors and are proud of their Welsh roots.This volume is especially informative on the vibrant religious life of the Liverpool Welsh. Areas such as Vauxhall, Anfield, Everton, Dingle, and Wavertree were noted for their high migrant populations, and Welsh was the dominant language in these neighbourhoods. By 1900, there were around ninety Welsh chapels, churches and mission halls, and the temperance movement flourished there too. Many of these individual chapels are discussed, while the religious revival of 19045 led by Evan Roberts, when the city was home to an array of talented nonconformist ministers, occupies another chapter.

Other themes discussed include prominent Welshmen who became medical practitioners and surgeons, such as Evan Thomas, Hugh Owen Thomas and Sir Robert Jones, who became the orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Liverpool, and Dr Emyr Wyn Jones (190799), a long-serving pillar of the Royal Liverpool Infirmary who also contributed richly to Welsh national life. Attention is also given to the University of Liverpool Medical School and the School of Tropical Medicine, founded mainly by Sir Alfred Lewis Jones.A whole chapter is devoted to the contribution of the photographer John Thomas (18381905) of the Cambrian Gallery and one who later sold some 3000 of his plates to Sir O. M. Edwards who made good use of them to illustrate his books and journals.Other themes outlined here include the extensive publication of Welsh books and periodicals within Liverpool, some of which were inevitably notably short lived. There is discussion of the extensive contribution of the citys Welsh community to the development of the colony at Patagonia in South America, some of the more prominent literary figures, and the notable builders who made such a massive contribution to the development of the city.By the 1850s and 1860s, Welsh involvement in the construction sector was well established.

And one man in particular led the way for Welsh architecture in the city Richard Owens, who joined forces with a Welsh timber merchant David Roberts of D Roberts, Son and Co. During the 1870s and 1880s, almost 4,300 houses were constructed over four estates in the fields of Toxteth Park by Richard Owens on behalf of the company. The Welsh Streets get their collective nickname as well as their individual names such as Powis, Madryn, Gwydir, Rhiwlas and Pengwern as a result of being built by Welsh workers towards the end of the nineteenth century. The most well-known piece of Welsh architecture in the city is perhaps the Welsh Presbyterian Church on Princes Street, commonly referred to as the Welsh or Toxteth Cathedral.Especially useful is appendix 1 with its brief biographies of many of the individuals who were prominent in the Liverpool Welsh communities. Some of these are certainly worthy of further research. The volume also includes an array of plates and photographs. This study will be assured of a warm welcome and extensive use by all those interested in the history of Wales and of Liverpool.

J. Graham JonesIt is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Books Council of Wales.Gellir defnyddio''r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.