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Notable Houses in and around Llanelli

Carreg Lwyd (Llwyd)

Former Home of John Henry Rogers

[Carreg Llwyd or Grey Stone: Carreg = stone;

Lwyd or Llwyd = grey – hence Grey Stone]

Carreg Lwyd, situated in the village of Pembrey in the Parish of Llanelli, this was the home of John Allen the fourth son of William Allen of Gelliswick, Pembrokeshire and Elizabeth Paynter of Dale Castle, Pembrokeshire. John Allen was educated at Jesus College Oxford.

About 1712-13, John Allen married Dorothy Vaughan, the widow of John Parker from Devon. Dorothy was the third daughter of Richard Vaughan of Torycoed, and Jemimah Vaughan (d 1687/88) of Llanelli.

Both Richard and Jemimah were members of the powerful Vaughan family descended from Hugh Vaughan and his grandson Walter Vaughan (d 1597) of Golden Grove near Llandeilo. Their descent came through two of Walter Vaughan’s many sons, William Vaughan (1577-1641) of Torycoed and Walter Vaughan (d 1635) of Llanelli.

Richard Vaughan was descended from William Vaughan of Torycoed and Llangyndeirne, and Jemimah Vaughan was descended from Walter Vaughan (d 1635) of Llanelli.

Walter Vaughan (d 1635), married the heiress Anne Lewis of Llanelli, and after living at Talyclun for a while, they moved to her former home at Llanelli. Walter accumulated a large estate in and around the Llanelli area and when his son, John Vaughan, died in 1669, his estate was eventually partitioned between his four daughters. The eldest daughter, Jemimah Vaughan, who had inherited a 1/4 Share of the Llanelli Estate, died in 1687/88 before her mother, Margaret, and her share was divided between her three daughters, Margaret, Rachell and Dorothy.

Dorothy Vaughan died on 7 July 1728 and her 1/12th Share, was bequeathed to her nephew Richard Phillips second son of her sister Margaret Vaughan who had married Thomas Phillips. Dorothy Vaughan’s 1/12th Share of the Llanelli Estate passed through a number of inheritors, and was finally acquired by Richard Pemberton in 1809, when William and Lucinda Hayton sold all, or part of their Share.

In 1724 John Allen JP became one of only four Carmarthenshire Sheriff’s from Llanelli, and was described as a man of substance who left £5 per annum to be spent on the purchase of bibles for Llanelli’s poor.

Despite being married twice, Dorothy Vaughan did not have any heirs and when her second husband John Allen died he was described as ‘without having any children’.

Buying Bibles

An enquiry was held in 1834 at Llanelli into the Parliamentary Returns of 1786:

John Allen by his Will dated 1743 gave £4 a year for buying Bibles for the poor people of Llanelly Parish. The sum was paid for several years but later withheld because the bequest was considered void under the Mortmain Act. (Mortmain – the transfer of property to a corporation is said to be a dead hand, or one that can never part with it again; Statutes of mortmain – Acts of Parliament restricting or forbidding the giving of property to religious houses.)