Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas Papers,

Papers of and relating to Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas, 1599-1941, comprising general correspondence of Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas, 1893-1919 and 1922-1940; general correspondence of Lady Thomas, 1895-1941; American letters from descendants of relatives who emigrated, 1873-1931; letters of Welsh interest mainly concerning localities and place-names, 1892-1919; letters relating to T.E. Ellis, 1898-1935; personal letters and cards from Daniel Lleufer Thomas to his wife, 1902; political letters, 1906-1933; papers relating to Daniel Lleufer Thomas's legal career and interests, 1891-1938; subject files relating to his public offices, including his appointment to the Welsh Land Commission, 1887-1941, societies and institutions to which he belonged, 1886-1940, Llandovery School, 1880-1935, the translator and poet Richard Morris Lewis, 1866-1933, general literary and historical interests, 1889-1940, and miscellaneous subjects, 1915-1933; and personal papers which include deeds of Brynmaen, once the family home, 1599-1885, and diaries of Daniel Lleufer Thomas and Lady Thomas, 1892-1899.

Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas (1863-1940) was born at Cwm-du near Talley, Carmarthenshire, and was educated at Llandovery College. In 1883, he entered Oxford as a non-collegiate student and was one of the founder members of the University's Dafydd ap Gwilym Society. He obtained an honours degree in Jurisprudence in 1887 and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in May 1889, holding his first brief at Carmarthen in the following December. He was appointed Stipendiary Magistrate for Pontypridd and the Rhondda in 1909, and Vice Chairman of Glamorgan Quarter Sessions in 1929, holding these offices until 1932-3 when ill-health compelled him to resign. Outside his legal career, Lleufer Thomas was a prominent figure in public life and was associated with Tom Ellis in the foundation of the London Cymru Fydd Society. He was appointed Assistant Commissioner to the Royal Commission of Labour in 1892; Secretary of the Welsh Land Commission from 1893 to 1896; and Chairman of the Welsh Section of the Commission on Industrial Unrest in 1917. He was granted a knighthood in 1931. Sir Lleufer also took an active part in the social and intellectual issues of his day, including the Co-operative Movement, the Workers' Educational Association and Housing and Town Planning, and was one of the founders of the Cardiff Workers' Co-operative Society which built Rhiwbina Garden Village. He was an important figure in the foundation of the National Library of Wales and the National Museum of Wales, and was a member of the Privy Council of the University of Wales, initiating the establishment of a Faculty of Law at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. His literary and historical interests were wide-ranging, and he contributed numerous articles to the Dictionary of National Biography and other publications. Lleufer Thomas received the honorary degree of LLD from the University of Wales in 1927 and was awarded the Cymmrodorion Medal in 1939. He died in August 1940.

Arranged as correspondence; Daniel Lleufer Thomas's legal career; subject files; personal papers.

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.

Donated by Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas, Lady Thomas, Edgar Chappell and Prof. David Williams between 1910 and 1952.

Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas (1863-1940) was born at Cwm-du near Talley, Carmarthenshire, and was educated at Llandovery College. In 1883, he entered Oxford as a non-collegiate student and was one of the founder members of the University's Dafydd ap Gwilym Society. He obtained an honours degree in Jurisprudence in 1887 and was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in May 1889, holding his first brief at Carmarthen in the following December. He was appointed Stipendiary Magistrate for Pontypridd and the Rhondda in 1909, and Vice Chairman of Glamorgan Quarter Sessions in 1929, holding these offices until 1932-3 when ill-health compelled him to resign. Outside his legal career, Lleufer Thomas was a prominent figure in public life and was associated with Tom Ellis in the foundation of the London Cymru Fydd Society. He was appointed Assistant Commissioner to the Royal Commission of Labour in 1892; Secretary of the Welsh Land Commission from 1893 to 1896; and Chairman of the Welsh Section of the Commission on Industrial Unrest in 1917. He was granted a knighthood in 1931. Sir Lleufer also took an active part in the social and intellectual issues of his day, including the Co-operative Movement, the Workers' Educational Association and Housing and Town Planning, and was one of the founders of the Cardiff Workers' Co-operative Society which built Rhiwbina Garden Village. He was an important figure in the foundation of the National Library of Wales and the National Museum of Wales, and was a member of the Privy Council of the University of Wales, initiating the establishment of a Faculty of Law at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. His literary and historical interests were wide-ranging, and he contributed numerous articles to the Dictionary of National Biography and other publications. Lleufer Thomas received the honorary degree of LLD from the University of Wales in 1927 and was awarded the Cymmrodorion Medal in 1939. He died in August 1940.

Title supplied from contents of fonds. Some of the papers pre-date the life of Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas and a few post-date his death.

Hard copies of the catalogues are available at the National Library of Wales.

March 2003.

Compiled by Annette Strauch for the ANW project. The following sources was used in the compilation of this description: NLW, Handlist of Manuscripts; NLW, Schedule of Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas Papers;

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Further papers at NLW of, and accumulated by, Daniel Lleufer Thomas, including MSS relating to the Welsh Land Commission, miscellaneous prose and verse, correspondence, etc., are held under the title Lleufer Thomas Manuscripts. An essay (in Welsh) on Daniel Lleufer Thomas is NLW MS 23061E. Books and pamphlets donated by him are in NLW printed collections.

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales