MOSTYN OF TALACRE PAPERS

Scope and Content

Estate papers of the Talacre estate, including: deeds and papers relating to lead and coal mines in Flintshire, 1621-1902; deeds relating to lands in Flintshire, 1332-1924 (including some for Basingwerk Abbey); rentals and terriers, [16th cent.]-1785; vouchers, 1585-1799; Llanasa Embankment Trust papers, 1846-1896; family papers, 1240-1938, including marriage settlements and wills, 1538-1924; and legal papers, 1529-1887. There are no papers in the archive relating to Archbishop Francis Edward Mostyn.

Administrative / Biographical History

The Mostyn family of Talacre, Llanasa, Flintshire, were a Catholic family descended from Piers Mostyn (Piers ap Richard ap Hywel, d. 1580), third son of Richard ap Howel (d. 1539) and Catherine, daughter of Thomas Salusbury of Lleweni, Denbighshire, and younger brother of Thomas Mostyn of Mostyn. Piers's son, William Mostyn (d. 1605), acquired by his marriage to Anne, daughter of Henry ap Thomas ap Harry of Greenfield, the lands of Basingwerk Abbey. William's great-grandson, Sir Edward Mostyn (b. c. 1628) was created a baronet in 1670. Francis Edward Mostyn, fourth son of Sir Pyers Mostyn, 8th Bart, was vicar apostolic of Wales in 1895, bishop of Menevia in 1898, and from 1921 onwards, Roman Catholic archbishop of Cardiff. Basingwerk abbey remained in the hands of the family until 1923, when Miss Clementina Mostyn placed the ruined abbey under the guardianship of the Office of Works (now CADW). The end of the Mostyn connection with Talacre came with the deaths of Sir Pyers Mostyn, 9th Bart, in 1912, and Sir Pyers Charles Mostyn, 10th Bart, in 1917, aged 21, which compelled the trustees to sell the mansion and estate in 1919. The estate was advertised for sale as 'A noble castellated stone built mansion, containing 40 rooms, with a handsome private chapel, and Home Farm'. It consisted of 150 cottages, 64 small holdings, licensed houses, 23 fair sized farms, numerous lead mines, a limestone quarry, and the Point of Ayr Colliery, comprising nearly 3,600 acres. According to the 1873 return of owners of land, Sir Pyers Mostyn of Talacre, baronet, owned an estimated 4,184 acres, all in Flintshire, with an estimated annual rental of £10,659.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically into the following: deeds; estate records; legal papers; and family papers. Additional group arranged into deeds; estate papers; family papers; legal papers; and miscellaneous.

Access Information

No restrictions

Note

Please order documents using the alternative reference number (where provided).

Compiled by Mair James for the HMC/NLW Family and Estates project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Mostyn of Talacre MSS Catalogue; Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940, (London, 1959); Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (London, 1959); James, Brian, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873'; National Library of Wales Journal, XIV (1965-6); Veysey, A.G., ed., Guide to the Flintshire Record Office (Flintshire County Record Office, 1974); Owen, Idloes, 'The Mostyns of Talacre Hall', Country Quest, February 1995.

Other Finding Aids

Hard copies of the catalogue are available at Flintshire Record Office, National Library of Wales and the National Register of Archives.

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Mair James for the HMC/NLW Family and Estates project, updated by Steven Davies at Flintshire Record Office. Data input by Jean Parry, Estelle Roberts and Beryl Hickman.

The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Mostyn of Talacre MSS Catalogue; Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940, (London, 1959); Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (London, 1959); James, Brian, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873'; National Library of Wales Journal, XIV (1965-6); Veysey, A.G., ed., Guide to the Flintshire Record Office (Flintshire County Record Office, 1974); Owen, Idloes, 'The Mostyns of Talacre Hall', Country Quest, February 1995.

Conditions Governing Use

Usual copyright regulations apply.

Usual copyright restrictions apply

Appraisal Information

All records deposited at Flintshire Record Office have been retained

Accruals

Accruals are not expected

Geographical Names