Davies-Evans family, of Highmead, Cardiganshire and Penylan, Carmarthenshire

Family

Davies-Evans family, of Highmead, Cardiganshire and Penylan, Carmarthenshire

Highmead mansion was built in 1777 by Herbert Evans (c.1744-1787) on the estate of his mother Elizabeth Lloyd, the last of the Llanfechan branch of the Lloyds of Castell Howell. Her father, David Lloyd, left Llanfechan and settled at Cardigan, but Elizabeth had several farms, on one of which Highmead was built. Herbert Evans was succeeded by his sons John who died without issue in 1799 and by another Herbert who also died without issue in 1848. The estate passed eventually to Mary Anne Evans, the daughter of Watkin Evans (d. 1816), a younger brother of John and Herbert, who had married Elizabeth Griffiths, the heiress of Dolgadfan, Montgomeryshire. She married Delme Seymour Davies (d. 1869), the son of William Griffith Davies (1762-1814) of Penylan. Herbert Davies (b. 1842), their son, assumed the surname Davies-Evans in 1884 in order to succeed to the estates of his great-uncle Herbert Evans (dsp 1848) of Highmead.
Major Herbert Davies-Evans (1842-1928) was a descendent of the Davies family of Penylan who appear to have owned the Penylan estate since the 1640s at least. Penylan was sold by Delme Seymour Davies (1807-1869) to David Jones of Pantglas, but Major Herbert Davies-Evans's secnd son, Delme William Campbell Davies-Evans (1873-1953), bought back Penylan when it came on the market.
According to the 1873 return of owners of land the Highmead estate measured 6,307 acres in Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire and carried an annual rental of £3915. In 1956 Highmead became a school for the disabled but closed down sometime after 1975.

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