Series HBB7 - Abernantbychan estate letters

Letters to the families of Lewes of Coedmor and Abernantbychan, Pryse of Gogerddan and Edward Loveden Loveden of Buscot Park, from their agents, solicitors, land surveyors and other landowners, 1699-1910. Most files also contain forwarded third-party letters and copies of outgoing letters. The letters cover several major themes. Firstly, the routine administration and finances of the Abernantbychan and Coedmor estates, and occasionally Gogerddan. Secondly, the administration of the manors of East and West Pembroke, Cilgerran, Emlyn Iscych, Dyffryn Braean and Gwynionydd Iscoed, the proceedings of the manorial courts, the rights of the lord of the manor, and the payment of chief rents. Thirdly, the Pembrokeshire coal mines and the dispute with Lord Milford at Moreton Colliery. Further common topics include valuations of the estates; the leases of Pantybettws, Trevane, Hopshill, Hodgeston and other farms; leases of crown lands; enclosure of common lands from c. 1806; the advowson of the parish of Hodgeston, the Court Leet of Aberystwyth, the Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire elections, and use of the Loveden and Pryse family’s influence in county and personal spheres. Some letters provide an insight into the social and political activities of the gentry families of Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire, such as Campbell of Stackpole Court, Owen of Orielton and Philipps of Picton Castle. Those of John Lewes of Carmarthen, 1780-1784, are noteworthy for their colourful accounts of local events involving both gentry and tenant farmers. The correspondence of Oliver Lloyd, 1834-1843, and Thomas Davies, 1843-1866, describes the difficulty of collecting property rents, chief rents and tithes, and the nuances of county politics. Additional points of interest are described at file level. There is evidence from the mid-nineteenth century of increasing concern over the structural condition of Cilgerran and Pembroke castles and the need for public guardianship.