 Front page of the earliest surviving copy of Seren Gomer. January 1st, 1814 | |
| Type | weekly newspaper, publisher, printer |
|---|---|
| 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]
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 and became a quarterly Baptist magazine. This continued until 1983.