Dynevor (Neath Abbey) estate papers

Neath Abbey estate papers comprising deeds, 1668-1935; rentals and accounts, 1786-1944; wills of the Rice family, 1779-1845; sale catalogues of parts of the estate, 1837-1838; correspondence concerning damage to property from mine workings of Raven colliery, Garnant, Carmarthenshire; plans, 1770-1871, including a volume of the survey of Neath Abbey by John Davies, 1770-1771, and a volume of plans of the Neath Canal, 1792-1892.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the lands of Neath Abbey (founded by Richard de Granville in 1130) were sold to Sir Richard Williams alias Cromwell. The family however did not occupy the abbey, and it was sold towards the end of the century to Sir John Herbert, who converted the monastic buildings into a manor house. In the absence of a male heir the estate passed to the Doddington family and then to the Hoby family. In 1699 Mrs Hoby died, and her estate was divided between her three daughters. Katherine, who married Griffith Rice of Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire, inherited the bulk of the property, and two-thirds of the minerals, but her sisters Elizabeth (who married Henry Compton) and Ann (who married William Stanley) also had a stake in the estate. The estate remained in the hands of the barons Dynevor until it was sold in 1946. According to the 1873 return of owners of land, The Rev., Lord Dynevor owned an estimated 10,509 acres in Wales (all in Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan) with an estimated annual rental of £18,552.

Arranged into the following: estate and family settlements; leases; and estate management papers.

No restrictions

It is the policy of the West Glamorgan Archive Service to withhold the names of depositors.

Compiled by Mair James for the HMC/NLW Family and Estates project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: James, Brian, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873', National Library of Wales Journal, XIV (1965-6); West Glamorgan Archive Service, Schedule of Dynevor (Neath Abbey) Estate Papers; Collis, Kim, The West Glamorgan Archive Service: A Guide to the Collections, (West Glamorgan Archive Service, 1998).

Hard copies of the catalogue are available at West Glamorgan Archive Service and the National Register of Archives.

Usual copyright regulations apply.

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Accruals are not expected

Further papers relating to the Dynevor estate in Carmarthenshire include National Library of Wales, Dynevor Estate Records and Carmarthenshire Archives Service, Dynevor Muniments. Further papers relating to its Hensol estate are National Library of Wales, Hensol Estate Records and Glamorgan Record Office, DD Part 1.