Edwinsford MSS,

Papers, c. 1650-1828, relating to estates and lordships in Carmarthenshire and including rentals of the Golden Grove estate and of the lordship of Cydweli, and an order-book of the borough of Llanelli; together with miscellaneous papers, 1746-1909, relating to the Williams and Drummond Williams family of Edwinsford, Carmarthenshire, comprising mainly correspondence and army commissions; and letter-books, 1807-1833, of Jacob Richards of Tenby, Pembrokeshire mainly relating to business and estate matters, including Richards's investments in India. The relationship, if any, between NLW MSS 22870-22871 - those papers relating to the Williams family and to Jacob Richards - and the rest of the collection has not been established.

The Edwinsford estate stands midway between Llansawel and Talley near the banks of the river Cothi. The original owner of Edwinsford was Meurig Goch and the oldest part of the building probably dates to the Elizabethan period. It was extended during the seventeenth century then later extensively renovated in the nineteenth century. The Williams (later Drummond Williams) family of Edwinsford intermarried with the Vaughans of Golden Grove, so adding to both estates. From the mid-twentieth century Edwinsford fell into decay. According to a 1873 return, the last possessor, Sir James Hamlyn Williams Williams-Drummond, who died in 1970, owned an estimated 9,282 acres in Carmarthenshire at an estimated annual rental of ℗Đ6,358. The Williams family contributed notably to Carmarthenshire civic and political life, with eight High Sheriffs, two Lords Lieutenants, three Members of Parliament, as well as numerous Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace to their credit. Sir Francis Dudley Williams Drummond (1863-1935) chronicled his family history in Annals of Edwinsford, Clovelly and Hawthorn-den (1924). The first owners of Golden Grove (Gelli Aur) near Bronwydd in Carmarthenshire were the Vaughan family during the sixteenth century. The estate was taken over by the Cawdor family in 1804 and, between 1827 and 1832, John Frederick Campbell, second baron Cawdor, completely rebuilt the original Tudor mansion. The 5th Earl of Cawdor, John Duncan Vaughan Campbell (1900-1970), leased Golden Grove to Carmarthenshire County Council. Its grounds today are open to the public as a country park and the buildings themselves house Carmarthenshire Agricultural College.

Arranged according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 22864-22871.

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Sotheby's (lots 410-411); London; Purchase; July 1991

The Edwinsford estate stands midway between Llansawel and Talley near the banks of the river Cothi. The original owner of Edwinsford was Meurig Goch and the oldest part of the building probably dates to the Elizabethan period. It was extended during the seventeenth century then later extensively renovated in the nineteenth century. The Williams (later Drummond Williams) family of Edwinsford intermarried with the Vaughans of Golden Grove, so adding to both estates. From the mid-twentieth century Edwinsford fell into decay. According to a 1873 return, the last possessor, Sir James Hamlyn Williams Williams-Drummond, who died in 1970, owned an estimated 9,282 acres in Carmarthenshire at an estimated annual rental of ℗Đ6,358. The Williams family contributed notably to Carmarthenshire civic and political life, with eight High Sheriffs, two Lords Lieutenants, three Members of Parliament, as well as numerous Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace to their credit. Sir Francis Dudley Williams Drummond (1863-1935) chronicled his family history in Annals of Edwinsford, Clovelly and Hawthorn-den (1924). The first owners of Golden Grove (Gelli Aur) near Bronwydd in Carmarthenshire were the Vaughan family during the sixteenth century. The estate was taken over by the Cawdor family in 1804 and, between 1827 and 1832, John Frederick Campbell, second baron Cawdor, completely rebuilt the original Tudor mansion. The 5th Earl of Cawdor, John Duncan Vaughan Campbell (1900-1970), leased Golden Grove to Carmarthenshire County Council. Its grounds today are open to the public as a country park and the buildings themselves house Carmarthenshire Agricultural College.

Title based on contents.

Preferred citation: NLW MSS 22864-22871

March 2009.

Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Vol. IX (Aberystwyth, 2003);

The papers were apparently housed at one time at Edwinsford, Carmarthenshire, the home of the Williams, later Drummond Williams, family. During the nineteenth century the family acted as agents to the Golden Grove estate, which explains the presence of some Golden Grove papers in the collection.

For further material relating to the Edwinsford estate, see NLW Edwinsford (1) and (2) and NLW D. T. M. Jones (5), which includes a sale catalogue of the estate, 1919; see also the Edwinsford estate records which are located on the Archives Network Wales site. For further material relating to the Golden Grove estate, see NLW MS 20104C, which includes particulars of pictures, manuscripts, letters and a family history, and NLW MS 21798A, which contains estate rentals, 1720-1769; see also the Cawdor Vaughan muniments which are located on the Archives Network Wales site.

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