1179 William Rowlands

Constituency : Cardiganshire  1886-95

William  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  defector  David  Davies  by  9  votes. He  had  the  support  of  the  majority  of  Nonconformist  ministers  in  the  area.

William  was  educated  at  Oxford. He  became  headmaster  of  a  grammar  school  in  Pembrokeshire  and  a  curate  in  the  same  area  before  becoming  a  barrister. He  sought  the  candidacy  in  East  Glamorganshire  in  1885  but  lost  out  to  Alfred  Thomas.

William  spoke  against  the  Irish  coercion  bill  in  1887.

William  did  not  speak  Welsh  and  rarely  visited  the  area  but  was  comfortably  re-elected  in  1892  despite  his  Liberal  Unionist  opponent  having  the  support  of  Joseph  Chamberlain.

In  1893  William  was  appointed  Recorder  of  Swansea  which  meant  a  by-election  but  nobody  opposed  him.

William  stood  down  in  1895.

He  died  in  1906  aged  69.