[4] After a short period as curate of Astbury in Cheshire, Griffith benefitted from the patronage of Sir Stephen Glynne, brother-in-law of W.E.
[3] At this time, Griffith had been writing to the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, using the pseudonym, Cambro Sacerdos, and in these articles drew attention to deficiencies that still existed within the church despite reforms undertaken in the 1830s.
Bute was not only an evangelical and supporter of church reform but also, as Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan, concerned about the preservation of law and order within the developing industrial communities in the upland parts of the county.
The new parish was a large one, extending from Hirwaun in the north to Mountain Ash in the south, an area of some fifty square miles centred on the town of Aberdare.
[5] The only Anglican place of worship was the small and ancient St John's Church, while there were already at least fourteen substantial nonconformist chapels in the parish.
Soon after his arrival at Aberdare, Griffith became embroiled in the controversy over the 1847 Education Reports following evidence he gave to the commissioners about the alleged immorality of the local population.
In late 1848 he criticised his own church's apparent indifference towards the Welsh-speaking population, most clearly seen in the appointment of monoglot Englishmen to ecclesiastical posts in Wales.