Life

Walters was the eldest son of John Walters

John Walters (Welsh cleric)

John Walters was a Welsh cleric from Glamorgan in the eighteenth century. He wrote a manifesto, A Dissertation on the Welsh Language , in which he praised the Welsh language. He was a noted lexicographer, publishing An English–Welsh Dictionary in fifteen parts . His eldest son was the poet and...

, a clergyman and lexicographer, and he was born on 11 June 1760 in Llandough

Llandough

Llandough is a village and southern suburb of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.- Location :...

, Glamorgan

Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...

, south Wales. He was educated at Cowbridge Grammar School

Cowbridge Grammar School

Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by a comprehensive school.Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling and refounded by Sir Leoline Jenkins, it had close links with Jesus College, Oxford. The school took both...

 and Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College, Oxford

Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...

, matriculating

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

 in 1777 obtaining his Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in 1781. During his time in Oxford, he was sub-librarian at the Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library

The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

. He became headmaster of Cowbridge Grammar School in 1783 and headmaster of Ruthin School

Ruthin School

Ruthin School is one of the oldest public schools in the United Kingdom. Located on the outskirts of Ruthin, the county town of Denbighshire in North Wales, the school is over seven hundred years old and has been co-educational since 1990.- Beginnings :...

 in the following year, when he also obtained his Master of Arts degree. He was later rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of Efenechtyd, Denbighshire

Denbighshire

Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...

. He died on 28 June 1789 in Ruthin

Ruthin

Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...

, survived by his wife and two daughters.

Works

Walters was a noted poet, publishing Poems with Notes in 1780 whilst still a university student. Translated Specimens of Welsh Poetry followed in 1782. Other works included an edition and translation of Llywarch Hen

Llywarch Hen

Llywarch Hen was a 6th-century prince of the Brythonic kingdom of Rheged, a ruling family in the Hen Ogledd or 'Old North' of Britain...

's poems (published in The History of Wales by Warrington in 1788) and sermons.
A new edition of Toxophilus printed by R.Marsh of Wrexham in 1788. It was edited with an introduction by the Rev. John Walters, M.A., Master of Ruthin Grammar School. This date coincides with the formation of the Royal British Bowmen, in Wrexham, in 1787!