Vavasor Powell (1617-1670) Puritan preacher, author and soldier, was born at Knucklas (Welsh Cnwclas, 'Green Hill') Radnorshire, modern Powys. His father was Richard Powell, his mother was Penelope, daughter of William Vavasor of Newtown, Morrice was originally from Yorkshire, before settling in Wales. He was an ardent evangelist and preached in many places in Wales. He once denounced Cromwell, saying, "Lord, do you want Oliver Cromwell or Jesus Christ to rule over us?" » Not much is known about his early life, except that he worked for a time as a valet, groom/stable boy at Bishops. Castle, before going to study with his uncle Erasmus Powell, vicar of Clun, Shropshire. He was then sent to Jesus College, Oxford, apparently leaving without obtaining a degree, after which he returned to Clun and worked as a teacher. After reading Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reede and listening to the sermons of Walter Cradoc, he became a Puritan and joined the Free Baptist movement. He was arrested in 1640 and 1642 at Prestatyn for disturbing the peace by preaching "inconformity", but was found not guilty. Later in 1642 he moved to London and in 1644 he was appointed Puritan vicar at Dartford, Kent. , where many continued to listen to his ardent sermon. It was at this time that the Great Plague swept across the country, forcing Powell to carry out 62 burials during his first year as vicar at Dartford. He resigned this post on 7 January 1646, when he returned to Wales, where he was licensed as a preacher by the Westminster Assembly and was appointed preacher in North Wales by the Committee of Plundered Ministers. In the autumn of 1648 he fought with the forces of Thomas Mytton and fought widely across Wales. Vavasor Powell saw himself primarily as a preacher, who would eventually preach in almost every parish in Wales. Morrice, Reverend JC, Wales in the seventh century: its literature and its men of letters and action. Bangor: Jarvis and Foster, 1918.2. Lloyd, JE, Jenkins, RT, Davies, WL, Davies, MB, (eds.), The Dictionary of Welsh Biography up to 1940. Oxford: BH Blackwell Ltd, 1959.3. Stephens, M., (ed.), The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.4. Douglas, J.D., 2nd ed., The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Exeter: Paternoster Editions. 19785. Coffey, J., Lim, PCH, (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Puritanism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.6. McBeth, LH, The Baptist Heritage. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1987.