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Griffith Jones, who was rector of Llanddowror from 1716 till his death in 1761, was the founder of what became known as the Welsh Circulating Schools. There is a large plaque in the church, commemorating him.

He had been ordained in 1708, and soon became known as a powerful preacher of the Gospel, and crowds came from a wide area to hear him. Like the Methodists later on, he would preach in the open air. Like them, he experienced opposition; in 1714 Bishop Ottley complained about his “going about preaching on week days in Churches, Churchyards, and sometimes on the mountains, to hundreds of auditors.”

Convinced that people’s progress in the Christian life was hindered if they could not read the Bible, he decided to do something about the general illiteracy. He appointed and trained schoolteachers who would spend three months in one place, usually in the winter months when farm work was slack, teaching both children and adults to read the Welsh Bible and to learn the Church Catechism. Night schools were held for those who could not attend during the day. At the end of the three months they would move on to another place

The exact date when these Circulating Schools commenced is not known, but in 1737 there were thirty-seven schools with 2,400 scholars. By the time Griffith Jones died it was recorded that 3,495 schools had been set up, with over 158,000 scholars.