(Bangor) Mostyn Manuscripts

A collection of 9097 papers relating to the Mostyn family, which includes literary and historical manuscripts, dating from the 16th to 18th centuries, notably 76 volumes /items of Welsh poetry; family papers, including marriage settlements, wills and personalia of the Mostyns of Mostyn, Gloddaeth, Bodysgallen, Rhyd, Maesmynan, the Wynns of Berth Ddu and Bodysgallen, the Vaughans of Corsygedol and Plas Hen, the Lloyds of Bodidris, the Lloyds of Berthlwyd, Bodfach, Pontruffydd and Pengwern, and the Houghs, Whitmores and Savages of Thornton Hough and Leighton, co. Chester; deeds, documents and other papers relating to Beaumaris, Bodedern, Llanddona, Llandysilio, Llangefni, Llangoed, Llanidan, Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf, Llansadwrn, Llantrisant, Newborough, Penmon, Pentraeth, Trefdraeth, and mixed parishes, co. Anglesey; Aber-erch, Bangor, Beddgelert, Bryncroes, Caernarfon, Clynnog, Conway, Dolwyddelan, Eglwys-rhos, Gyffin, Llanaelhaearn, Llanarmon, Llanbeblig, Llanddeiniolen, Llandygwnning, Llandrillo, Llandudno, Llandwrog, Llanengan, Llanfaglan, Llanfihangel Bachellaeth, Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, Llangan, Llangybi, Llangystennin, Llanllyfni, Llannor, Llanrwst, Llanystumdwy, Llysfaen, Maenan, Penmachno, Pentir, Pistyll, Pwllheli and Trefriw, co. Caernarfon; Cwmrheidiol, Llanbadarn Fawr, co. Cardigan; Aberchwiler, Abergele, Betws-yn-Rhos, Bodfari, Cerrigydrudion, Denbigh, Gresford, Henllan, Holt, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Llanarmon-yn-Il, Llanbedr, Llanddoged, Llandegla, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, Llanfair Talhaearn, Llanfwrog, Llangernyw, Llangollen, Llangynhafal, Llanefydd, Llanrhaeadr-yng-Nghinmeirch, Llanrwst, Llansannan, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Wrexham and Ysbyty Ifan, co. Denbigh; Bodfari, Caerwys, Cilcain, Cwm, Diserth, Flint, Halkyn, Hawarden, Holywell, Hope, Llanasa, Meliden, Mold, Nannerch, Newmarket, Northop, Overton, Prestatyn, Rhuddlan, St. Asaph, Tremeirchion, Treuddyn, Whitford, Worthenbury and Ysgeifiog, co. Flint; Barmouth, Corwen, Dolgellau, Ffestiniog, Harlech, Llanaber, Llanbedr, Llandanwg, Llandderfel, Llanddwywe, Llandecwyn, Llanelltyd, Llanenddwyn, Llanfachreth, Llanfair, Llanfawr, Llanfihangel-y-traethau, Llanfrothen, Llangower, Llwyngwril, Maentwrog, Mallwyd, Pennal, Towyn and Trawsfynydd, co. Merioneth; Ceri, Llandinam, Llandysul, Llanfechain, Llanfyllin, Llangynog, Llanidloes, Llanwnnog, Llanwrin and Machynlleth, co. Montgomery; Llanbister, Llandegley and St. Harmon, co. Radnor; Longcott, Stanford, co. Berkshire; Backford, Bebington, Bunbury, Chester, Christleton, Dodleston, Farndon, Middlewich, Nantwich, Neston, Northwich, Prestbury, Runcorn, Tattenhall, Thurstaston, Wallasey, Waverton and West Kirby, co. Cheshire; and deeds relating to the counties, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Huntingdonshire, Kent, Lancashire, Lincoln, Northampton, Rutland, Salop, Somerset, Hampshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Surrey; and deeds relating to Ireland; rentals, surveys, valuations, particulars, etc., relating to the Welsh and English estates and the counties of Anglesey, Brecon, Caernarvonshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembroke, Radnor and Cheshire, Hereford, Leicester and Salop; manorial records, relating to the counties of Caernarvonshire, Flintshire, Montgomeryshire and Cheshire; tithe records relating to the counties of Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire and Cheshire; accounts relating to Caernarvonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire and Cheshire; lawsuits and controversies; industrial records; papers relating to transport and communications; correspondence; papers relating to county politics and electioneering; maps and plans; and miscellaneous papers. Mostyn additional manuscripts include copies of correspondence and miscellaneous papers.

The Mostyn family are said to be the result of the amalgamation of five distinct lines through a series of marriages during the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries. These lines were Pengwern, in the lordship of Chirkland, Mostyn in Tegeingl, Gloddaeth in the commote of Creuddyn, and Trecastell and Tregarnedd in Anglesey. These are known as the five courts. The Pengwern estate, Denbighshire, is said to have been the original home of the family.

In the late fourteenth century the Mostyns gained Trecastell when Ieuan ab Adda ab Iorweth Ddu married Angharad, daughter and co-heiress of Ednyfed ap Tudur ap Goronwy. Early in the fifteenth century Ieuan Fychan ap Ieuan ab Adda, of Pengwern, married Angharad, the daughter and heiress of Hywel, son of Tudur ap Ithel Fychan of Mostyn, and acquired the land on which the present Mostyn Hall stands. Through this marriage the estates of Pengwern, Mostyn and Trecastell were brought together. Gloddaeth came to the family shortly before 1460 through the marriage of Hywel ap Ieuan Fychan, of Mostyn and Pengwern, with Margaret, heiress of Madog Gloddaeth. The Gloddaeth fortunes are said to have been founded by Madog Gloddaeth ap Madog Fychan who had added Tregarnedd to his possessions through marriage. Hywel and Margaret had a son, Richard ap Hywel, who inherited the five courts, his principal seat being at Mostyn. Later, Bodysgallen was to become a Mostyn house through the marriage of Sir Roger, on 12 May 1766, with Margaret, daughter of the Rev. Hugh Wynn of Bodysgallen and Berth-ddu.

Richard ap Hywel fought for Henry VII at Bosworth and for a time before his death was a sinecure rector of Whitford, Flintshire. He died at Mostyn on 7 February 1539/40. He had married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Salusbury, the elder, of Lleweni, and had by her seven children. Thomas (of Mostyn), Hugh, who died young, Peter (Peyrs, Piers), ancestor of the Mostyns of Talacre and four daughters. Thomas Mostyn (d.1558), the eldest son of Richard ap Hywel, was the first to be known by what became the family surname - Mostyn. His eldest son was William Mostyn. He served under William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, at the time of Wyatt's Rebellion. He returned to Parliament for Flintshire 2 March 1553/4, and again in the November of that year. He was High Sheriff of Flintshire three times and of Caernarvonshire (1566-1567). On 8 May 1572 William Mostyn was again returned as M.P. for Flintshire and remained the member for that county until his death in 1576. He had married Margaret, daughter of Robert Powell of Whittington, and his eldest son by her was Thomas Mostyn (1535?-1618), who became Sir Thomas Mostyn. He was appointed to the shrievalty of Anglesey twice, Flintshire twice and for Caernarvonshire once. He also became Custos Rotulorum of Caernarvonshire. His heir was his second son, Sir Roger Mostyn (1559/60-1642). He was educated at Oxford and Lincoln's Inn. He too became a sheriff, for Anglesey in 1589-1590, for Flintshire in 1608-1609 and 1626-1627. He was also Deputy Lieutenant for Flintshire. He was M.P. for Flintshire, 1621-1622. Sir Roger married Mary (1581-1653), in 1596/7, who was the eldest daughter of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir. Sir Roger died in 1642 a year after the death of his eldest son. His other sons were William Mostyn, Archdeacon of Bangor, and Richard Mostyn (d.1627), who was a soldier. His eldest son, Sir Thomas Mostyn, married Elizabeth in 1623. She was the daughter of Sir James Whitelock, the Chief Justice of Chester. They lived at Cilcain, Flintshire and their son, Sir Roger Mostyn (1623/4-1690), following the outbreak of the Civil War , soon became a Captain and later a Colonel in the Royalist forces. Charles I also appointed him governor of Flint castle and town. In 1660 Sir Roger was made a knight of the Royal Oak, and became the Deputy Lieutenant for Flintshire. Sir Roger died at Mostyn 4 October 1690. He had married firstly, Prudence, daughter of Sir Martin Lumley; secondly, Mary, eldest daughter of Thomas, viscount Bulkeley of Baron Hill, Anglesey; and thirdly, Lumley, eldest daughter of George Coetmor of Coetmor. Sir Roger's heir was Sir Thomas Mostyn (1651-1700?), who was his son by his second wife. Sir Thomas Mostyn went to Christ Church, Oxford, and was a patron of fine arts. He collected many of the books in the libraries at Gloddaeth and Mostyn. He married Bridget, daughter of D'Arcy Savage, of Leighton, Cheshire. By her he had seven sons and four daughters. His heir was Sir Roger Mostyn (1673-1734), 3rd Baronet, who gained his education at Jesus College, Oxford, and became the M.P. for Flintshire in 1701. He was returned to the county and for the boroughs of Flint in 1702, but elected to sit for Chester in that Parliament. In the next Parliament (1705-1708) Sir Roger was returned for Flintshire and sat for that county until 1734. In 1703 he married Lady Essex Finch, who was the daughter of Daniel, Earl of Winchilsea, and they had six sons and six daughters. He died 5 May 1734 and was succeeded by his heir Sir Thomas Mostyn (1704-1758), 4th Baronet. Sir Thomas married Sarah, daughter of Robert Weston, London. They had four sons and five daughters. Like his grandfather, he too was interested in literature, and also collected books and manuscripts. He died 24 March 1758. His son Sir Roger Mostyn (1734-1796), 5th Bart., succeeded him. On 12 May 1766, Sir Roger married Margaret, daughter of the Rev. Hugh Wynn of Bodysgallen and Berth-ddu. He died 26 July 1796 and was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas Mostyn (1776-1831), 6th Bart. With the 6th Knight the baronetcy became extinct and the estates passed to Sir Edward Pryce Lloyd (1768-1854), who was created Baron Mostyn, 10 September 1831.

The Lloyds had for centuries been associated with Flintshire and Denbighshire. On the death of Sir Edward Lloyd (1710?-1795), 1st Bart., the title and the estates passed to his grand-nephew, Sir Edward Pryce Lloyd (1768-1854), 2nd Bart., who was the son of Bell Lloyd of Pontruffydd. The 1st Bart. had married, in 1794, Elizabeth, the third daughter of Sir Roger Mostyn, 5th Bart., and sister and co-heir of Sir Thomas Mostyn, 6th Bart., who had died unmarried. The estates passed to her son, Sir Edward Pryce Lloyd. All the Mostyn estates, including Corsygedol in Merioneth passed to the 1st Baron Mostyn. He died 3 April 1854 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward Lloyd (1795-1884), 2nd Baron Mostyn. In 1831, the 2nd Baron assumed the additional surname of Mostyn.

Arranged according to type of document, then geographically, then listed chronologically.

Open to all users

Deposited in September 1962 by Lord Mostyn. The additional manuscripts were deposited in November 1969, also by Lord Mostyn.

Seven catalogues at item level.

The Mostyn Collection held at the National Library of Wales, which consists of Medieval and other manuscripts, some in Welsh, bought at the 1974 Mostyn sale (NLW MSS 21238-54). For the main group of Mostyn manuscripts see NLW MSS 3021-76. Catalogue (1975), iii + 166pp. See also Annual Report of the National Library of Wales, 1974-75, p.46; National Library of Wales Journal, 19 (1975-6), pp.209-16. The 'Mostyn Talacre' manuscript of Welsh poetry (NLW 21582). Catalogue (1977), 11pp. National Library of Wales Journal, 20 (1977-8), pp.207-8. See index of National Library of Wales Handlist of Manuscripts, volumes I, II, III and IV, under Mostyn. Flintshire Record Office, Hawarden also holds related papers.

Usual copyright conditions apply. Reprographics made at the discretion of the archivist.

None expected

Bangor Manuscripts 4891 (15-25, 36), 26519, 26662-26664, 31256, 32972 and 36462.

Williams, F. Ron, An historical account of Llandudno and the Mostyn influence, (Deganwy, Conwy: Catalist, for Mostyn Estate and Llandudno and District Historical Society, 1996). Catalogue of valuable printed books, the property of the Lord Mostyn, Mostyn Hall, Mostyn ... which will be sold by auction, by Messrs.Sotheby,Wilkinson & Hodge,... April 16th, 1920, (London: Sotheby,Wilkinson & Hodge, 1920). White, J. Tolson, Report on the mines and minerals on the Mostyn Estate, ([s.l.: Mostyn Estate:] 1863). Mostyn, Llewelyn Nevill Vaughan Lloyd-Mostyn, 3rd Baron, 1856-1929, Address (by tenants and inhabitants of Llandudno) on his coming of age. 7th. April 1877, (s.l., s.n., n.d). The Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940, under the Auspices of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, (London, 1959). Carr, A. D., 'Gloddaeth and the Mostyns, 1540-1642', Transactions of the Caernarvonshire Historical Society, Volume 41 (1980), pp. 33-58. Carr, A. D., 'The Making of the Mostyns: The Genesis of a Landed Family', Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, (1979), pp. 137-158. Boddiad Glofeydd Mostyn a gwasgariad y bobl, gan Un o'r Glowyr, (Bagillt: E.Williams [1889?]) Mostyn, Llewelyn Nevill Vaughan Lloyd-Mostyn, 3rd Baron, History of the family of Mostyn of Mostyn, (London: Harrison and Sons, 1925). Carr, A. D., The Mostyn family and estate, 1200-1642, Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Wales Bangor : Welsh History, 1976. J. E. Griffith, Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families; with their Collateral Branches in Denbighshire, Merionethshire and other parts, (Horncastle, 1914), pp. 182-183. Access Points