Dr William Price, pioneer of cremations

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A bizarre individual




A vegetarian nudist who believed in free love and herbal remedies is not a character you would instantly associate with nineteenth century Wales.  But Dr William Price was one of the most colourful and intriguing individuals of his age.



Born in Rudry near Caerphilly in 1800 he trained as a doctor at the Royal College of Surgeons in London before returning to Wales and settling in the Upper Boat area, near Pontypridd.  Practicing medicine in the Pontypridd and Treforest area, he became renowned for his unconventional manner, refusing to treat patients who smoked because he despised the habit.




Unconventional methods




Price proclaimed himself to be an archdruid and wore a scarlet waistcoat, green trousers and a fox-fur hat when carrying out his druidic ceremonies at the Rocking Stone, Pontypridd.  He was also prone to going for long walks in the nude, behaviour that earned him a reputation in the Llantrisant area for eccentricity.



Unlike the doctors of his age, Price was an advocate of herbal remedies and dispensed his own potions to the sick under his care.  This earned him a reputation as a quack rather than a genuine medical practitioner but it seems certain that he viewed the work of his contemporaries in much the same way, denouncing their traditional methods of medicine.  He was also a vegetarian and opposed practices such as vivisection and vaccination.




Chartist beliefs




In accordance with his unconventional views, Price despised the law and its administrators and was an avid Chartist.  He played a part in the planning of the Chartist rising in Newport in 1839 by organising a supply of arms.  Although he did not participate in the rising itself, he escaped to Paris in its aftermath.




A pioneer of cremation




Many years later, while in his eighties, he met and fell in love with a young woman many decades his junior named Gwenllian Llewelyn.  She was his housekeeper and together they had three children, one of whom was christened Iesu Grist Price (Jesus Christ Price) in a move which was apparently designed to enrage local churchgoers as Price was an opponent of orthodox religion.  Jesus died in infancy and his father chose to cremate his son’s body, an act for which Price is probably best remembered.  On 18 January 1884, he burned the child’s body in front of onlookers on a Llantrisant hillside.  Price believed that cremation was in accordance with ancient Celtic practice.



He was prosecuted for the act at the Winter Assizes in Cardiff but the jury found him not guilty.  The judgement established the precedent for the legality of cremation in Britain and Price was hailed by its promoters, though his motivation was his druidic belief.



Price died at Llantrisant on 23 January 1893 in comparative poverty.  He left detailed instructions for his body to be cremated in cast-iron sheeting on Cae’r-lan Fields Hill, near Llantrisant. 



His bizarre behaviour and unorthodox beliefs mean that his memory has lived on.