Henllys Manuscripts

A collection of 1344 items relating to the Henllys (Beaumaris) and Bodior (Rhoscolyn) estates, co. Anglesey. They include family papers of the Hamptons of Henllys represented by William Hampton the elder (fl.1584), William Hampton the younger (fl.1609), Richard Hampton (II) and Robert Hampton (III); and deeds concerning properties in Beaumaris and Llanfaes, 1550-1738; deeds and documents concerning the Trefollwyn, Murddun Gwyn and Llangwyllog estates in Bodwrog, Heneglwys, Llanddaniel-fab, Llanddona, Llanddyfnan, Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, Llangwyllog, Llansadwrn, Penmynydd, Pentraeth and Trefollwyn, 1605-1763 (John Jones of Trefollwyn, inheritor of these estates, married Margaret, daughter of the third Robert Hampton of Henllys); family and personal papers of John Hampton Jones, 1768-1806 and John Hampton Lewis, 1793-1842; and deeds relating to lands in Beaumaris, Heneglwys, Llanddaniel-fab, Llanfaes, Llaniestyn, Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll and Llangefni, 1770-97; deeds, documents and papers relating to the devolution of the Bodior estate in Beaumaris, Llangristiolus, Llechylched, Penrhyn-yr-wyn, Pentre'r Gwyddel, Rhoscolyn and Tregarnedd (Pen-yr-Orsedd), 1548-1778 (bequeathed by the will (1801) of John Lewis the younger of Bodior to the children of John Hampton Jones of Henllys who married Emma, sister of John Lewis); family and personal papers of John Lewis Hampton Lewis of Henllys, 1823-71, including papers of the I'Anson family of Harby, Yorkshire, to whom the said John Lewis Hampton Lewis was allied in marriage; personal and estate papers of Thomas Lewis Hampton Lewis (ob.1912); rentals and valuations of the Henllys-Bodior estates, 1751-1843; maps and surveys, 1774-1835.

It is believed that the Hamptons of Henllys arrived in eastern Anglesey almost as early as the Bulkeleys. They are said to originally have been of Lancashire stock, who, settling in Beaumaris in the time of Edward IV, intermarried with the native gentry, and played a powerful role in the corporate life of the borough. William Hampton formed one of the garrisons of Beaumaris castle in 1460, and held there the rank of Deputy-Governor. He received a grant of Henllys, which was anciently the seat of Gweirydd ap Rhys Goch, Chief of one of the 15 tribes of North Wales. The eventual heiress of the Hamptons of Henllys, Mary Hampton married John Jones of Trefollwyn in 1746, the son of Hugh Jones of the same place. Mary died in 1759, and her successor was John Hampton Jones, who was born in 1746. He married Emma, the only daughter of the Rev. John Lewis, M.A., of Plas Llanfihangel, Rector of Llandegfan, in 1770, and by her had issue, John Hampton Hampton Lewis of Henllys, born in 1775. In 1830 he assumed by Royal Licence the additional surname and arms of Lewis. In 1796 he married Mary, daughter of Richard Chambers of Whitbourn Court and Cradley Hall, Herefordshire, and had issue by her, John Lewis Hampton Lewis, of Henllys and Bodior, his heir. Born in 1798 he married Elizabeth Francis in 1833, the only child and heiress of Thomas I'Anson of Prior House, Richmond. He had an heir by her, Thomas Lewis Hampton Lewis, born 1834, who was educated at Sandhurst and who entered the Army in 1852. He served in the Crimean War, from 1854 to 1856, and was at Balaclava, Inkerman, Tchernaya and Sebastopol. In 1872 he married Lettice Martha, the second daughter of Henry Prichard of Trescawen, Anglesey. He died in 1912 having had issue, Mary Gwendolen Hampton, born 1875. Under the provisions of her father's will she resumed the surname Hampton alone.

In chronological order under the person to whom the papers relate and then according to the type of document.

Open to all users

Deposited in 1946 by Colonel B. C. Dwyer-Hampton of Henllys, Beaumaris, and Mrs Vivian of Treffos.

Catalogue at item and series level

Counterparts of mss 455-56 can be found in Baron Hill Manuscripts, 3785-3786.

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

None expected

Baron Hill Manuscripts Bangor Manuscripts 28473 The Holy Bible , 1639 - donated by the Hampton-Lewis family of Henllys to the University of Wales Library.

Sir Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain , (Harrison and Sons, Pall Mall, 1914, 12th Ed.). J. E. Griffith, Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families with their Collateral Branches in Denbighshire, Merionethshire and other parts , (Horncastle, 1914), p. 92. Access Points