Walter was born in the parish of
St. Arvans,
Monmouthshire, south Wales in 1611 and studied at the
University of Oxford,
matriculating as a member of
Jesus College, Oxford in 1633 and obtaining his
Bachelor of Civil Law degree in the same year. He was ordained as a priest in the
Church of England and became
curate of
Mounton, not far from St. Arvans, in 1639 through his brother's influence. However, Walter's religious views diverged from those of the Church of England, becoming aligned with those of the non-conformist
William Wroth, who was also based in Monmouthshire; Wroth made Walter the main
executor of his will. During the
English Civil War, Walter seems to have left Monmouthshire for London. In 1646, he was one of three
Puritan clergymen sent by the House of Commons to preach in Welsh in Wales, and he was the first name on the list of clerical commissioners approving clergy appointments in Wales under the Act for the Propagation of the Gospel in 1650. In 1653, Walter became
vicar of St Woolos in
Newport, but he was ejected from there in 1662 after
the Restoration. In 1672, he was given a licence to minister in
Llantarnam and later inspired the Independent congregation in
Mynyddislwyn, to whom he left some money in his will. He died sometime before 8 August 1678. ==References==