A book about a maverick Machen pastor who took a sledgehammer to his own chapel has been released.
The Sledgehammer Pastor is the biography of Daniel Hughes, a pastor turned politician, who spent the last 50 years of his career as a minister in Machen.
Born in 1875, the remarkable pastor was imprisoned in 1902 for failing to pay school rates – taxes imposed on church schools by the government. Hughes believed the taxes “encouraged popedom”.
He was prominent in the radical shift of the Noncomformist ministry, away from their Liberal traditions as Labour politics began to take hold across Wales, dividing chapels in two.
Author Ivor Thomas Rees said: “Daniel Hughes is a gift for a biographer, as he relished a fight.
“He was a popular preacher and fiery orator, and was nicknamed the Sledgehammer Pastor in 1912.
“When chapel leaders in Pontypool locked him out of the building, he took a sledgehammer to smash the lock and let his supporters in.
“He has been ignored and forgotten, except by a few people in Machen who treasure his memory.”
Hughes died in 1972, aged 97, and was visited by Black American singer Paul Robeson in Machen after forging a friendship with him in Detroit.
It is rumoured that his closeness to the activist, who was labelled a communist under McCarthyism, contributed to Hughes’ return to Wales from America for fear of having his passport taken off him.
Hughes became involved in local politics in Machen, elected to the local council and standing as the Labour candidate for Parliament for Monmouth.
Published by Y Lolfa, the book reveals the controversy of Hughes’ life and why he became a love or loathe figure.
In his foreword to the book, BBC broadcaster Huw Edwards confesses he initially had a negative impression of the pastor.
But he adds: “I have grown to respect his courage and indefatigability. He represents an important change in the character of the Nonconformist ministry in Wales.
“Hughes was a Labour pioneer who reacted against the comfortable, superior, self-satisfied Liberal hegemony.
For more information about The Sledgehammer Pastor visit www.ylolfa.com.