Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1696-1975 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.381 cubic metres (14 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
David Evans bought the land and built the first house at Peterwell near Lampeter, Cardiganshire, in Charles I's reign. The Evans family were originally from Llechwedd Deri. Subsequently the Peterwell and Llechwedd Deri estates passed to the Lloyd family when Mary, widow of Daniel Evans, married secondly John Lloyd of Bwchllaethwen, Llangwynne, who came to reside at Peterwell. His daughter, Eleanor, married Sir Thomas Stepney and their daughter, Elizabeth, married Walter Lloyd (d. 1747) a lawyer from Foelallt, Llanfairclydogau, Carmarthenshire, and they settled in Peterwell, which with Llechwedd Deri had come to Elizabeth as co-heiress.
John Lloyd (1718-1755), their eldest son, succeeded to the estates, but he died without issue and the estates passed to his brother, Herbert Lloyd (1720-1769), who was created a baronet in 1763. Due to his large debts he shot himself in August 1769. The estate then passed to his nephew, John Adams of Whitland, MP for Carmarthen Borough 1774-1780, the son of Sir Herbert's sister, Elizabeth. He amassed more debts and attempted to sell the estate. Eventually, Albany Wallis, a London attorney, who held the original mortgage, bought the Peterwell estate in 1776. On his death he left the bulk of his fortune to Lady Bailey of Pall Mall for life, with remainder to her son Colonel Bailey Wallis. He sold the estate to Richard Hart-Davies, a partner in Harford Bank, Bristol.
The Harford family of Blaise Castle, Gloucestershire, purchased Peterwell from Richard Hart-Davis in 1820 after he had lost his money in 1819. The estate remained in the hands of the Harford family until 1949. The Harfords chose not to live at Peterwell and erected instead a new mansion at Falcondale about a mile away, which they had acquired at the beginning of the 19th century.
According to the 1873 return of owners of land, John Battersby-Harford of Falcondale owned an estimated 8,399 acres in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire with an estimated rental of £5,660. Their Falcondale estate was sold to the County Council in 1951.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Major J. C. Harford, Lampeter, in January 1928 and 1929; and by Sir Timothy Harford, Evesham, per Burges Salmon, solicitors, Bristol, in 1984.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Records of the Peterwell and Falcondale estates of the Harford family, in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, including Peterwell estate papers, 1696-1963, including deeds, accounts, surveys and valuations; Lampeter Town estate papers, 1868-1954, Tresaith estate papers, 1886-1975, Blaise Castle estate papers, 1834-1938; and manorial records relating to the borough of Lampeter, 1741-1848.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
All records deposited at NLW have been retained.
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged chronologically into two sections: Section I consisting of Falcondale documents arranged by document type into seven groups; Section II consisting of Peterwell Estate papers arranged into group I (nos 1-192 listed by item) and group II (nos 193-220 listed by bundle).
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. The following documents in the Falcondale Collection have been missing since 1940: Group I, no. 12, Group III, no. 92, Group V, no. 71, and Group VI, nos 190, 193, 8, 1, 2, 147, 146, 194.
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
Further details relating to manorial records within the archive can be accessed on-line from The National Archives Manorial Documents Register.
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
- Falcondale Estate (Wales) -- Archives (Subject)
- Lampeter Town Estate (Wales) -- Records and correspondence (Subject)
- Tresaith Estate (Wales) -- Records and corespondence. (Subject)
- Blaise Castle Estate (England) -- Records and correspondence. (Subject)
- Peterwell Estate (Wales) -- Archives. (Subject)
- Peterwell Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- Lampeter (Wales : Manor) (Subject)
- Lampeter Town Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- Tresaith Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- Blaise Castle Estate (England) (Subject)
- Falcondale Estate (Wales) (Subject)
- Harford family, of Falcondale and Peterwell -- Archives. (Subject)
- Lloyd family, of Peterwell -- Archives. (Subject)
- Adams family, of Peterwell (Subject)
- Lloyd family, of Peterwell (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
April 2002. Group VI minor amendments by Lucie Hobson, July 2022.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Jones, Francis, Historic Cardiganshire Homes and their families (Newport, 2000); James, Brian, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873', National Library of Wales Journal, XIV; Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (London, 1959); Nicholas, Thomas, Annals and Antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales (London, 2 vols, 1872), vol. I.
Archivist's note
Compiled by Mair James.