Seren Gomer

Seren Gomer
	Front page of the earliest surviving copy of Seren Gomer. January 1st, 1814
Type	weekly newspaper, publishing company, printing company
Founder(s)	Joseph Harris
Publisher	David Jenkin
Editor	Samuel Evans[], Joseph Harris, David Davies Evans[]
City	Swansea

Seren Gomer was the first Welsh-language weekly newspaper. The first number was published in 1814 in Swansea by the local Baptist minister and writer Joseph Harris (Gomer).^[1]

Publishing history

The weekly was intended to cover news from the whole of Wales and from overseas, as well as literary material. Its success was limited: it went out of business in 1815 after 85 editions, partly due to the heavy tax on newspapers and a shortfall in advertising revenue.^[2] In 1818 Harris revived the publication, which became associated with the Baptist denomination. In 1820 it became a monthly. The writer and poet Evan Owen Allen was among its contributors.

When Harris died in 1825, the paper was purchased by Carmarthen publisher Hugh William Jones [cy] and became a quarterly Baptist magazine. This continued until 1983.

Editors

1951–1975: Lewis Valentine

1975–1977: David Eirwyn Morgan

References

^ "Wales's first Welsh paper Seren Gomer shone brightly, but briefly." South Wales Evening Post, 8 January 2014. Accessed 23 February 2016.
^ BBC News, "Plaque unveiled for 200th anniversary of Seren Gomer". 12 April 2014. Accessed 23 February 2016

External links

Seren Gomer – the first Welsh weekly at the National Library of Wales

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[1] "Wales's first Welsh paper Seren Gomer shone brightly, but briefly." South Wales Evening Post, 8 January 2014. Accessed 23 February 2016.

[2] BBC News, "Plaque unveiled for 200th anniversary of Seren Gomer". 12 April 2014. Accessed 23 February 2016

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