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Wynnstay Estate Records Series
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Wynnstay estate letter books

An original series of volumes containing typescript copies of letters sent out from the office of Longueville and Co. on behalf of the Wynnstay estate, 1928-1957. The letters are addressed to the Wynnstay estate agents, other solicitors’ firms, private individuals, Wrexham Rural District Council, Denbighshire County Council, Machynlleth Urban District Council, Ceiriog Rural District Council, Cefn Mawr Parish Council, Penllyn Rural District Council, the County Council of Salop, utility companies, mining agents, land agents, the Coal Commission, insurance companies, banks, vicars, St Asaph Diocesan Registry, the War Agricultural Executive Committee (WAEC), the Inland Revenue, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Forestry Commission, members of the Williams Wynn family and the trustees. The contents reflect the routine work of the solicitors’ practice, referring to estate sales and purchases; leases; financial management under the Wynnstay family trusts; tithe rent charges and chief rents; charities; sporting rights; mineral rights; manorial rights; and sales of Wynnstay land for housing, public utilities, amenities and commercial purposes. Most of the transactions concern the main Wynnstay estate and Llangedwyn estate in Denbighshire, Machynlleth, Cemais and Llanbryn-mair in Montgomeryshire, Llanuwchllyn and Bala in Merioneth, and Llanforda and Trefonnen near Oswestry, Salop. Notable land sales include Plas Kynaston Hall and estate, 1935-1947, 1951. Purchases include the Bryngwalia estate, Denbighshire, 1951-1954. Projects involving former Wynnstay lands are Liverpool Corporation waterworks and the Vyrnwy Aqueduct, 1930-1936, the Great Western Railway and Plas Madoc Branch, 1930-1934, the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, 1953, 1957, and the Dovey Valley Water Scheme, 1954-1957. Some of the contents demonstrate the local effects on the Wynnstay estate of various Acts of Parliament, such as the Housing Acts 1930, 1936 and 1949, the Tithe Act 1936, the Coal (Registration of Ownership) Act 1937, the Coal Acts 1938 and 1943, the Hill Farming Act 1946, the Town and Country Planning Acts 1947 and 1954, the Agricultural Holdings Act 1948; National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949; and the effects of the Second World War such as Defence Regulations 1939-1946, requisitioning by the WAEC, 1943, and the evacuation of [Hawtreys] School to Llangedwyn Hall, 1944-1946. Letters following the deaths of Sir Herbert Lloyd Watkin Williams Wynn in May 1944 and his son, Watkin Williams Wynn in May 1949, discuss the subsequent legal business under the terms of the will and the family trusts; recurrent themes are the separate trust of the Llanbryn-mair estate, death duties and the family heirlooms. The financial decline of the Wynnstay estate is perceptible in the negotiations for the sale of Llwydiarth, Glan-llyn, Aberhirnant, part of the Cefn estate, Eglwyseg, Erbistock Hall, Wynnstay Hall and its contents, Llandysilio Moor, Plas Isa, parts of the Llangedwyn and Llanforda estates, and many other individual properties, 1944-1957; the demolition of Llanforda mansion is recorded, 1949.

Loose letters and associated Wynnstay papers

Loose letters and other associated papers accumulated by the office of Longueville and Co. relating to the Wynnstay estate, 1777-1948. The letters, mostly incoming, are from the Wynnstay estate agents, other solicitors, land agents and valuers, vendors and purchasers, tenants, members of the Williams Wynn family and the trustees. The contents reflect the routine work of the solicitors’ practice, referring to Wynnstay estate sales and purchases; property leases; mining and mineral rights; financial management under the Wynnstay family trusts; and sporting rights. Some files relate to particular topics such as Rhosllanerchrugog coal mines, 1785, 1859-1879; the sale of the manor of Stanwardine and purchase of Plas Ucha, 1805-1818; West Wye Valley Mine, etc. 1858-1914; crown rents, 1860-1881; the life policy of Sarah Sealy, 1868; clay extraction at Gwersyllt 1883-1884; letters of W.W. Wynne to Rev. George Williams, 1901; and the estate of Arthur Watkin Williams Wynn, deceased, 1948.

Williams Wynn family settlements, trusts and abstracts of title

Family settlements, papers relating to the family trusts, and abstracts of title of the Williams Wynn family of Wynnstay, 1771-1933, and an inventory of the settled chattels, [1948]. The series includes the marriage settlements and related documents of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, fourth Baronet, and Charlotte Grenville, 1771-1828, Charles Watkin Williams Wynn and Mary Cunliffe, 1806-1808, and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn and Henrietta Antonia Clive, 1817; various settlements, wills and trusts relating to Lady Charlotte Wynn, 1832-1869, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn [fifth and sixth Baronets] and family, 1842-1885, Charlotte Henrietta Williams Wynn and Count Frederick Bismarck, 1856-1886, and Sir Herbert Lloyd Watkin Williams Wynn, 1884-1933.

Montgomeryshire deeds

Title deeds and associated documents relating to purchases by the Wynnstay estate of lands in the parishes of Meifod, Llanwrin and Llanbryn-mair, Montgomeryshire, 1836-1945. The properties include Fridd Farm, Meifod, purchased from the Powis Castle estate in 1899-1900.

Miscellaneous deeds and documents (Wynnstay estate sales)

Miscellaneous files containing mainly draft and copy conveyances of properties belonging to the Wynnstay estate, sold by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn and/or the trustees of the settled estates in Denbighshire, Merioneth, Montgomeryshire and Salop, and the Maenan estate, Caernarfonshire, 1840-1938. Fields and unnamed properties generally have not been included in the file descriptions.

Fishing and shooting papers

Papers relating to sporting on lands belonging to Wynnstay, namely unlawful fishing in the river Tanat and in the Dovery fishery within the manor of Cyfeiliog, and agreements for shooting at Llangollen and on the Llwydiarth estate, 1877-1928.

Denbighshire and Flintshire deeds

Title deeds and associated documents relating to purchases and exchanges by the Wynnstay estate of lands in Denbighshire and Flintshire, 1859-1927. Two separate files concern Teathams Farm in the parish of Ruabon, 1859-1876. Others relate to property in Rhos Stansty, Wrexham, 1869-1881, in Ruthin, 1881, lands at Gresford taken for the Great Western Railway, 1880-1881, mines and minerals, and Rutters Farm in the parish of Erbistock, 1907-1927

Miscellaneous legal papers

Miscellaneous legal papers accumulated during the routine administrative work carried out by Longueville and Co. solicitors on behalf of the Wynnstay estate. They include an account book for the Court of Great Sessions for Merioneth, 1782-1784; lawyers’ instructions, cases and opinions, drafts of crown leases of gold and silver ores, and plans for non-conformist chapels, 1865-1925.

Probate records

Probate records of several members of the Williams Wynn family of Wynnstay, comprising mainly copies, abstracts and transcripts of the wills of Sir John Wynn and Sir William Williams, 1710-1735; Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, 1840-1876; Grenville Watkin Williams Wynn, 1865-1924; and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn and Dowager Lady Williams Wynn, 1884-1905.

Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire deeds and documents

Conveyances, agreements, particulars, conditions of sale and other documents relating to the sale of parts of the Wynnstay estates in Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire, 1853-1921, and the estate timber, 1853[x1870]. The lands included the Maenan estate, 1856-1858, and part of the Cefn estate, sold for building development in Colwyn Bay and Llysfaen, 1891-1921.

Mortgages

Mortgages and other papers relating to mortgages (mainly copies and drafts) on the Wynnstay estates in Salop, Montgomeryshire, Flintshire, Merioneth and Denbighshire, but also including a small number of family deeds, and documentary evidence of mortgages of the Peniarth estate for which the Williams Wynn family acted as trustees, 1770-1921. The Wynnstay securities comprised two very large mortgages of £77,000 and £60,000, respectively assigned to new mortgagees in 1845.

Llangedwyn estate rents

The collection comprises property in p's Oswestry, Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, Wrexham, Gresford, Ruabon, Holt, Llangollen, Llandysilio-yn-Iâl, Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, Llandegla, Llangedwyn, Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog and Llansilin, co. Denb., Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain and Pennant, co. Mont., Bangor Is-coed, co. Flint, and Tilston, Cheshire. The pre-1897 Llangedwyn estate rents (the estate of Lady Williams Wynn) are not contained in separate volumes as below, but, rather, with other estate rentals in the series of Farm and Cottage receiving rentals. After 1911 (RD29), the Llangedwyn rents re-appear in those rentals. Some additional properties are included in the Llangedwyn rentals from 1897 onwards as a result of the transfer of certain properties from the Wynnstay and Ruthin estate to the Llangedwyn estate. Llangedwyn rents will also be found in the series of general rentals (see Farm and cottage rents, 1863-1898). The Llangedwyn rentals are half-yearly, ending either at Lady Day or Michaelmas. Cynllaith Owain chief rents, consisting of property in t's Lloran and Priddbwll [p. Llansilin], co. Denb., are also included from 1898 (RD4). However, since these chief rents were collected yearly, at Michaelmas, they will only be found in the Michaelmas volumes. Details of Cynllaith Owain chief rents before 1898 will be found in the general rentals, and in the series of Tithe, chief and fee farm rentals.

Miscellaneous Wynnstay (Longueville) files

Files of unsorted papers from the office of Longueville and Co. relating to the Wynnstay estate, 1717-1909. Many of the papers concern purchases, sales and exchanges of property in Denbighshire, Merioneth, Montgomeryshire and Salop, mainly in the mid-nineteenth century. Typically they include draft deeds, abstracts, particulars, plans, valuations and conditions of sale. Some deeds relate to disentailment and the release of encumbrances on parts of the Wynnstay settled estates prior to sale, and to the right of the trustees to sell. Several documents concern the sale of Wynnstay land for railway development schemes and for water supply, such as the Vyrnwy water supply under the Liverpool Corporation Waterworks Act 1880. Several of the bundles contain papers of Watkin Edwards Wynne of Llewesog and of Owen Wynne, his brother and executor, 1785-1800. Other recurrent themes include the manorial rights of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn in the manor of Cyfeiliog, the sale of timber from the Wynnstay estates, Wynnstay finances, and the work of the trustees for the purposes of the estate sales and purchases. Several files contain statements of conveyances of parts of the Wynnstay estates and trustees’ accounts, 1858-1860. Most files contain routine accounts and correspondence of Longueville and Co., of the Wynnstay agents and other interested parties.

Settled Land Acts estate improvement applications

Papers relating to applications between 1887 and 1905 by Sir Herbert Lloyd Watkin Williams Wynn, Lady Louise Alexandra Williams Wynn and the trustees of the Wynnstay settlement of 1884, under the provisions of the Settled Land Acts, 1882-1890, for improvements on the Glan-llyn estate in the parish of Llanuwchllyn, Merioneth, Llwynymaen and Llanforda near Oswestry, Salop, the Llangedwyn estate in Llansilin, Llangedwyn, Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Denbighshire, the Llanbryn-mair and Cyfeiliog estate, Montgomeryshire, and parts of the main Wynnstay estate in Bangor Is-coed and Wrexham. Typically the file contents comprise official application forms for the approval by the Board of Agriculture of a surveyor or engineer nominated by the Wynnstay trustees, orders issued by the High Court of Justice Chancery Division, building estimates, specifications, surveyors’ reports and certificates, accounts, agents’ receipts and relevant correspondence. Some files contain plans and elevations.

Papers relating to Wynnstay lawsuits

Papers from the office of Longueville and Co., drawn up in the preparation of lawsuits mainly involving members of the Williams Wynn family of Wynnstay, [c. 1817]-1904. The most substantial of these is a case brought by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn against Robert Edwards of Gronwen, Oswestry, and Thomas Roberts, concerning trespass and a dispute over land at Moelfre Pool in the manor of Cynllaith Owain, 1883-1884. Others include an alleged case of trepass by Richard Tyrwhitt on lands in Llansanffraid Glynceiriog and Llandysilio, Denbighshire, [c. 1817]-1820; the recovery of royalties from William Farr of Plas Llysyn, Montgomeryshire, 1833-1839; possession of a cottage at Commins Coch, Cemais, Montgomeryshire, 1873-1878; and several separate cases relating to tenancy and arrears of rent, 1874-1904. The files typically include cases and counsels’ opinions, notices, the complaint or statement of claim, court summons, affidavits, court orders, attorneys’ bills of costs, correspondence, counterparts and copies of relevant deeds, and maps and plans.

Montgomeryshire deeds and documents

Mainly agreements for sale, conveyances, particulars and conditions of sale for lands and timber in Montgomeryshire sold by the Wynnstay estate, 1853-1897. The locations include Hirnant, Llanerfyl, Llanfyllin, Llanfair Caereinion, Llangadfan, Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Llanwddyn, Montgomery, Pennant Melangell, Trefeglwys and Welshpool. One file concerns the sale of Llwydiarth estate timber, 1870. Others relate to the Arwystli chief rents, 1881, and the Wynnstay Arms, Llanfyllin, 1891.

Liverpool Corporation water supply petition and Act

Papers relating to the scheme by Liverpool Corporation to obtain a water supply from the rivers Vyrnwy, Marchnant and Conwy in Montgomeryshire, and the effect of the scheme on the estates of Llwydiarth and Llanforda belonging to Sir Watkin Williams Wynn of Wynnstay, 1880-1893. They comprise a petition against the bill, amendments to the Act of Parliament, together with relevant maps and correspondence.

Leases, tenancy agreements, etc.

Leases, agreements and various other papers relating to tenancies mainly on the Wynnstay estate, comprising a distraint on the tenant of Allt Goch in the parish of Meifod, Montgomeryshire, 1815-1823, miscellaneous leases and agreements, 1842-1892, and a lease to Cefn Mawr and Rhosymedre Gas Company Limited, 1865.

Tramway and railway agreements

Agreements and other associated papers concerning the construction of tramways and railways on land belonging to Wynnstay or otherwise affecting the estate, 1878-1891. The files relate to the Glyn Valley Tramway, 1878, Pant Glas Tramway at Eglwyseg, 1878-1884, the Great Western Railway at Ruabon, 1882, and The Shropshire Railways Company in Denbighshire, 1891. Some papers in the file for Pant Glas Tramway relate to the erection of fences in the manor of Llanegwest.

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