The Vivod estate was made up of the mansion house of Plas yn Vivod and numerous farms, mainly in the townships of Bache and Vivod, in Llangollen. The estate was amassed by Richard Ellerton of Llantysilio Hall in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1871, William Wagstaff of Hyde Park, Middlesex, the solicitor employed by Thomas Brassey, the railway contractor, purchased the estate for £27,000. On William's death in 1877 the estate passed to his daughter, Mary, the wife of John Charles Best of Abbots Ann, Hampshire.
Of particular interest in this collection are papers relating to Berwyn bridge, the Llangollen and Corwen railway, the Vale of Llangollen railway and other lines. William Wagstaff was the solicitor employed by Thomas Brassey (1805-1870), the railway contractor.
There is a complete series of reports and miscellaneous papers of the Llangollen Cottage Hospital from its establishment in 1876 to 1947. Captain John Charles Best was for many years Chairman of the Llangollen Board of Health.