Cefnamwlch Estate Papers

Scope and Content

Deeds , 1592-1915, mainly tenancy agreements for parishes in Caernarfonshire; Cefnamwlch estate papers (Pwllgwd, Plasymhenllech, Cefnamwlch Home farm, Cefnamwlch House, Plasymhenllech House, and Mellteryn estate), 1796-1945, including rentals, 1796-1944, and surveys, 1812-1957; Voelas estate papers, 1910-1946; estate and business correspondence, 1794-1958; personal papers, 1832-1961; financial papers, 1796-1945; and tithe records, 1863-1936.

Administrative / Biographical History

The Cefnamwlch estate was in the possession of the Griffith family from at least the 15th century to the 18th century. William Griffith (1721-1752) married Sidney Wynne, daughter of Cadwaladr Wynne of Voelas, Denbighshire. Their son, John Griffith (d. 1794), was the last of the Griffith family to live at Cefnamwlch. Dying unmarried, he bequeathed the estate to his cousin, Jane Wynne (d 1811) of Voelas, who married the Hon. Charles Finch, brother to the Earl of Aylesford, who had inherited the manor of Pooley Hall, Warwickshire, from his godfather, Charles Jennens of Gopsall Hall, Leicestershire in 1773. The Wynne family had been settled at Voelas since the times of Cadwaladr ap Maurice (d. 1611) who was granted Voelas by Henry VIII in 1545-1546. The estate then descended in the male line until Watkin Wynne (1717-1774), whose heir was his daughter, Jane Wynne (d 1811). Both the Voelas and Cefnamwlch estates passed to their son, Charles Wynne (1780-1865), who assumed the names of Griffith-Wynne in lieu of Finch. He was succeeded by his son Charles Wynne who assumed the additional name of Finch. On the death of Charles's son, Charles Arthur Wynne Finch, in 1903, the Voelas estate passed to his second son, John Charles Wynne Finch (b. 1891), while the Cefnamwlch estate passed to his third son, William Heneage Wynne Finch (b. 1893). According to the 1873 return of owners of land, Charles Wynne Finch, of Voelas and Cefn Amwlch owned an estimated 13,591 acres in Wales (all in Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire) with an estimated rental of £7,687.

Arrangement

Arranged into the following: deeds; estate and business correspondence; personal; financial papers; Cefnamwlch estate papers, subdivided by farm; tithe records; bills and vouchers; and miscellaneous.

Access Information

No restrictions

Note

Compiled by Mair James for the HMC/NLW Family and Estates project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Griffith, John Edwards, Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families (Wrexham, 1998 reprint); James, Brian, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873', National Library of Wales Journal, vol.XIV (1965-6); Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940 (London, 1959); NLW, Schedule of Voelas and Cefnamwlch Estate Papers.

Other Finding Aids

Hard copies of the catalogue are available at Caernarfon Record Office and the National Register of Archives. The catalogue can be accessed online.

Conditions Governing Use

Usual copyright regulations apply.

Appraisal Information

All records deposited at Caernarfon Record Office have been retained

Accruals

Accruals are not expected

Related Material

Further papers relating to the Wynne-Finch family and their estates are Voelas and Cefnamwlch Estate Records and Cernioge Estate Records, both at the National Library of Wales; National Library of Wales Deeds 1448-61, and National Library of Wales, BRA (1956, parcel 969);Caernarfon Record Office: XD/32A, and XD32B; and Warwickshire County Record Office, CR 759.