Bodrhyddan Estate Papers

Court books, 1794-1841, and other records of the manor of Rhuddlan, 1732, 1760-1765, 1861, 1908; records of the estates of Bodrhyddan, Aberkinsey and Bryn Iorcyn in Flintshire and Denbighshire, 1284, 1606-1855, including deeds, rentals and accounts, 1784-1794; and surveys, and correspondence, 18 cent.-19 cent., including a group relating to sugar plantations in Nevis and St Kitts in the West Indies.

The family derives from the ancient seat of the Conways of Prestatyn and Bodrhyddan. The estate descended in the male line until the death of the last male heir, Sir John Conway, in 1721. Sir John's daughter, Penelope, married James Russell Stapleton (d. 1743). They had a daughter, also called Penelope, who, in May 1753, married Ellis Yonge (1717-1787) of Bryn Iorcyn, Flintshire, and Acton Hall, Denbighshire. Ellis Yonge and Penelope had two children, Penelope and Barbara. In April 1777, Penelope Yonge married the Rev. William Davies Shipley, M.A., Dean and Chancellor of St Asaph (1745-1826). Their eldest son, Colonel William Shipley, is said to have been killed whilst out shooting at Hyeres in the South of France by the accidental discharge of his servant's gun.
Capt. William Shipley was his heir and it was he who first adopted the surname of Shipley-Conwy. He never married, and on his death, the estate passed to his sister Charlotte. She was married to Richard Thomas Rowley, the second son of Baron Langford of Somerhill, County Meath. Their son and heir was born at Bodrhyddan in January 1841, Conwy Grenville Hercules Rowley-Conwy. In 1869 he married Marion, second daughter of Capt. Frederick Harford of Down Place, Windsor. In November 1869, he assumed the additional surname of Conwy, and in 1895 obtained royal licence and authority that he and his issue might continue to use the surname of Conwy, in addition to and after that of Rowley. His son Rafe Grenville Rowley Conwy, died unmarried in April 1951, leaving the Bodrhyddan estate to his nephew Lord Langford.

Arranged into documents by record type, Bodrhyddan letters relating to sugar plantations, and miscellaneous letters.

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

Deposited by Rear-Admiral R.G. Rowley-Conwy, C.M.G. in December, 1935, and October, 1938.

The family derives from the ancient seat of the Conways of Prestatyn and Bodrhyddan. The estate descended in the male line until the death of the last male heir, Sir John Conway, in 1721. Sir John's daughter, Penelope, married James Russell Stapleton (d. 1743). They had a daughter, also called Penelope, who, in May 1753, married Ellis Yonge (1717-1787) of Bryn Iorcyn, Flintshire, and Acton Hall, Denbighshire. Ellis Yonge and Penelope had two children, Penelope and Barbara. In April 1777, Penelope Yonge married the Rev. William Davies Shipley, M.A., Dean and Chancellor of St Asaph (1745-1826). Their eldest son, Colonel William Shipley, is said to have been killed whilst out shooting at Hyeres in the South of France by the accidental discharge of his servant's gun.
Capt. William Shipley was his heir and it was he who first adopted the surname of Shipley-Conwy. He never married, and on his death, the estate passed to his sister Charlotte. She was married to Richard Thomas Rowley, the second son of Baron Langford of Somerhill, County Meath. Their son and heir was born at Bodrhyddan in January 1841, Conwy Grenville Hercules Rowley-Conwy. In 1869 he married Marion, second daughter of Capt. Frederick Harford of Down Place, Windsor. In November 1869, he assumed the additional surname of Conwy, and in 1895 obtained royal licence and authority that he and his issue might continue to use the surname of Conwy, in addition to and after that of Rowley. His son Rafe Grenville Rowley Conwy, died unmarried in April 1951, leaving the Bodrhyddan estate to his nephew Lord Langford.

Title supplied from contents of fonds. Previously called Bodrhyddan Documents & Bodrhyddan Correspondence.

Further details relating to manorial records within the archive can be accessed online from <A HREF="http://www.mdr.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/">http://www.mdr.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/</A>

April 2002

Compiled by Mair James.

The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Nicholas, Thomas, Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County families of Wales,, (London, 2 vols., 1872), vol. I; <http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk>, April 2002.

Usual copyright laws apply

Action: All records deposited at NLW have been retained apart from the original charter granted in 1284 by Edward I to the town of Rhuddlan which has been returned to the depositor..

Accruals are not expected

A volume of vellum maps is in NLW, Map Collections. A larger group of Bodrhyddan papers are the Bodrhyddan MSS in the Department of Manuscripts, University of Wales Bangor Library, Other related papers are the Stapleton-Cotton MSS also held by the Department of Manuscripts, University of Wales Bangor Library.

Published