Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1258-1972 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.694 cubic metres (13 boxes, 58 volumes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Williams family of Aberpergwm was an old family with a very long association with the upper Neath Valley. The family pedigree can be traced back to one Morgan ap Caradoc ap Iestyn, the 12th century lord of Nedd-Afan. The family made Aberpergwm their home in the 16th century, and continued there until the 1950s. The estate consisted in the main of a large area in the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, principally in the hamlets of Neath Higher and Neath Middle, in the manor of Neath Ultra and Cilybebyll, and adjacent areas in Breconshire. Several members of the family were instrumental in cultivating Welsh poetry and music in the Neath Valley, and the house once contained many important Welsh manuscripts.
The Williams family were deeply involved in the coal industry, encouraging the growth of the industry to such an extent that Morgan Stuart Williams is described in 1889 as colliery owner in preference to the usual esquire.
William Williams (1788-1855) married Matilda Susannah Smith, only daughter and sole heiress of Col. Thomas Smith of Castellau, Glamorgan, and Rosamund, daughter of John Bush of Burcot, Oxfordshire. Matilda Susannah married secondly, Edward Lloyd of Ty'n-y-Rhyl, Flintshire, which may explain the presence of papers of the Lloyd family of Castellau and Aberpergwm.
According to the 1873 return of owners of land, Morgan Stuart Williams (1846-1909) of Aberpergwm, Glamorgan, owned an estimated 3,917 acres in Wales (in Glamorgan and Breconshire), with an estimated rental of £3,690. He purchased the St Donat's Castle estate in 1899. His eldest son and heir, Godfrey Herbert Joseph Williams, sold St Donat's Castle in 1922.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Mr Godfrey Williams, per Mr R. Bernard Bowran; Aberpergwm; Deposit; 1939.
The Trustees of the Aberpergwm Estate; Deposit; 1949.
Major Idris M. Williams, per Messrs Ashurst, Crisp & Co., London; Deposit; between December 1964 and March 1965, July 1965.
BRA 1787: Messrs Pennington Lewis & Lewis, per The British Records Association; London; Donation; 1979.
NLW MSS 22348-50: Dylans Bookstore; Swansea; Purchase; 1987.
Major Idris Morgan-Williams; St Helier, Jersey; Deposit; 1991.
NLW MS 24187B: Shapero Rare Books; London; Purchase; October 2021; 992460594802419.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Deeds of the Aberpergwm estate in Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Breconshire, and Carmarthenshire, 1258-1919; rentals and general account books of the estate (including some colliery accounts), 1791-1870, account books and balance sheets of the Aberpergwm colleries, 1794-1972; documents relating to Treferig Valley railway, 1874-1884; and personal papers, including letters to the Williams family of Aberpergwm and the associated families of Smith of Castellau, Llantrisant, Lloyd of Castellau and Aberpergwm and the Bush family of Burcot, Oxfordshire, 1760-1909; Castellau estate papers, 1867-1879; and papers, mainly 18th century, relating to the claims of inhabitants in the Forest of Dean.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records deposited and donated to NLW have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged at NLW as follows: letters; other papers; deeds and documents; manuscripts.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
- Latin
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Latin.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Hard copies of the catalogues, entitled Aberpergwm Letters and Manuscripts (1964), Aberpergwm Deeds and Documents (1968) and Aberpergwm Papers (1993) are available at NLW and HMC. The BRA donation remains uncatalogued.
Generated finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
GEAC system control number
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Treferig Valley Railway (Subject)
- Aberpergwm Estate (Wales) -- Archives (Subject)
- Aberpergwm Collieries Co Ltd (Wales) (Subject)
- Castellau Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- St. Donat's Castle Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- Aberpergwm Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- Williams family, of Aberpergwm -- Archives. (Subject)
- Smith family, of Castellau -- Correspondence (Subject)
- Lloyd family, of Castellau and Aberpergwm -- Correspondence (Subject)
- Smith family, of Castellau (Subject)
- Lloyd family, of Castellau and Aberpergwm (Subject)
- Bush family, of Burcot (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
May 2002.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: West Glamorgan Archive Service, Catalogue of the Aberpergwm Estate Papers; Brian Ll. James, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873', National Library of Wales Journal, 14(1965-66), 302-320; Kim Collis, The West Glamorgan Archive Service: A Guide to the Collections (West Glamorgan Archive Service, 1998); Burke's Landed Gentry (London, 1952).
Archivist's note
Compiled by Mair James.