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A Llanelli Chronology

The information in this section is an edited version taken from Llanelli - Birth of a Town a CdRom by William and Benita Rees

1200 to 1299

Chronology 

1201 Maredudd ap Rhys, one of the Lord Rhys’s illegitimate sons was killed in battle in the commote of Carnwallon by the followers of William de Londres II and the commotes and castles of Cydweli and Carnwallon passed into Norman hands again.

1215 Rhys Grug burned and destroyed both Cydweli and Carnwallon castles. The exact location of Carnwyllion castle (Yr Hen Gastell – ‘The Old Castle) is not known but it is thought to be at the end of Old Castle Road, in the centre of Pond Twym.

Carnwallon Castle was probably rebuilt sometime later on the site of the ancient Roman Marching Camp where Castle Buildings stands today (Pen y Castell – The New Castle).

The Tudor family is generally accepted as beginning with Ednyfed Fychan, Steward to the Princes of Gwynedd, Llywelyn the Great, and his son Dafydd. The use of the word ‘Tewdwr’ or ‘Tudor’, which is Welsh for Theodore, only began in the 15th century.

1215 Llywelyn the Great had agreed to the marriage of Ednyfed Fychan and Princess Gwenllian, daughter of the Lord Rhys and sister to Rhys Grug. Ednyfed and his sons and grandsons served the Princes of Gwynedd from 1215 until the conquest of Edward I in 1282-1283.

1216 Rhys Grug son the Lord Rhys was in possession of the Lordship of Cydweli.

1220 Rhys Grug forced to restore the commotes of Cydweli and Carnwallon to the de Londres family. Hawise (Hadwisa) de Londres, heiress of Thomas de Londres received the Lordships of Cydweli and Carnwallon.

1223 Walter de Breos, on his marriage to Hawise de Londres, held Lordships of Cydweli and Carnwallon.

1244 Patrick de Chaworth held Lordships

1258 Hawise de Chaworth held Lordships in her own right.

1275 Pain de Chaworth, Edward I’s Commander in Chief, held the Lordships.

1279 Patrick de Chaworth inherited the Lordships when his brother Pain died.

1282 After the conquest of Edward I a new class of Welsh Gentry emerged who were employed by the Crown as Administrators. Many families took advantage of Edward I’s proclamation of 1282, which protected the possessions and privileges of those who submitted to the Crown.

The descendants of Ednyfed Fychan (Steward to the Princes of Gwynedd 1215-46), were leading members of the Welsh gentry who worked in conjunction with the Crown after 1282. (The Vaughans of Llanelli were descended from Ednyfed Fychan through Hugh Vaughan of Golden Grove.)

1282 Edward I ordered a valuation of churches for taxation purposes, known as ‘Pope Nicholas’ Taxatio’, when the combined value of Llanelli, Llangennech and Llannon churches was £10. Llangennech and Llannon were daughter churches of Llanelli and their parish tithes would have been included in those of the mother church.

1283 Matilda de Chaworth, infant daughter and heiress of Patrick de Chaworth, held the Lordships of Cydweli and Carnwallon.

1287 A ship moored at Carmarthen Bay was hired to carry armour, crossbows and arrows to Dryslwyn. This indicates that the ancient shipping places of Carmarthen Bay, including the Burry Estuary, were active during the Welsh uprising.

1291 Matilda de Chaworth was betrothed to Henry, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and the Lordships were held during her minority by Edmund (Crouchback) Earl of Lancaster.

1298 Henry 1st Duke of Lancaster married Matilda de Chaworth and Carnwallon became part of the powerful Duchy of Lancaster.

1300-1399