Sub-sub-fonds R, A, V etc. - Estate rentals, account books and vouchers

The growth of the Wynnstay estate through marriage and purchase of land was a complicated and protracted one. This growth is reflected in the estate rentals, listed and analysed in this catalogue. The rentals are preserved in an almost unbroken series from the time of Sir William Williams. Furthermore, rentals of many smaller estates, constituent parts of the later Wynnstay estate, go back well beyond the date at which they joined Wynnstay, into the 17th and even the 16th century. By 1808, the Wynnstay estate was more or less fully grown. In 1808-9 there was a reorganisation of the administration of the estate. A by-product of the reorganisation was the binding, or perhaps in some cases the re-binding, of all rentals up to 1809. All these rentals, now R1 to R63 were bound uniformly (they vary of course in size) in calf with two lettering pieces, one red and one black. The earliest rentals were gathered together in six volumes titled 'Old Miscellaneous Rentals'. Other series follow, leading into the long series of rentals of the Wynnstay estate proper titled 'W. W. W. Rentals'. Exceptions to the uniform 1809 binding, very likely because they were not found at the time, are R7 which has an old calf binding and R19 and 20, bound to the same pattern as the 1809 binding but with use of different tools which appear also on the binding of R64, the rental for 1810. R64 is otherwise also of the same pattern as the 1809 bindings. The rentals for 1811-42 are bound to be a different pattern, with a single red lettering piece. The volumes for 1811-14 are each slightly different and were probably bound annually. Those for 1815-42 appear uniform in all respects and were probably all bound in or soon after 1842. R68 is extra- series and bound in rough calf. A third pattern of binding, again with a single red lettering piece, appears from 1843 onwards. Slight variations in tooling and lettering show that from 1843 rentals were bound in small batches, the longest run being of twelve years. From 1881 the red lettering piece disappears through otherwise the pattern remains the same. Towards the end of this period, in the 1870s and 1880s it looks as though the rentals were bound as blank books, before use. A word more is needed about the make-up of the rentals in so far as it is determined by the manner of administering the estate. Because of its size and far-flung character, the collection of rents (and to some extent disbursement) was in the hands of several agents. Each agent produced his own accounts, commonly in a single-quire book. The Wynnstay rental for any given year is made up of these separate books, varying in size, bound together in one volume. To facilitate reference to the separate books, representing the constituent estates or collections of the Wynnstay estate, they have been numbered within each volume. Thus, for example, R28/6 refers to the 1745 rental for the Llwydiarth estate: it is the 6th book in the volume designated R28, the Wynnstay estate rental for 1745. When it appeared to be helpful, letters a, b, c, etc., have been used to indicate divisions within a book within a rental. Hence the references of the type R113/3f. Many of the agents' and collectors' books comprised in the rentals include accounts of disbursements. Where, as is usually the case, these are merely allowances to tenants or for repairs to property, the list ignores their presence. Occasionally there are special accounts, e.g., for election expenses. The latter type is indicated in the analytical list. Also listed are a few 'non-Wynnstay' rentals, that is to say, rentals of property which never belonged to Wynnstay. Some are bound up with the Wynnstay rentals, e.g., those for Gwydir estate, see p. 54; the remainder are gathered together at RA 30-40. The reasons for the presence of these rentals are sometime obvious, and noted. Apart from rentals, this volume of the schedule lists the surviving estate account books and vouchers. The surviving series mostly originate in the 1860s, marking the adoption of new method in the estate office. Excluded from this volume are account books and vouchers not relating to the estate. In listing the rentals, the year given for a rental is, unless otherwise indicated, the year in which the last day of the rent year falls, e.g., a rental for Lady Day 1801 to Lady Day 1802 will be represented in the list as 1802. The following abbreviations are used: p. and p's - parish or parishes of; t. and t's - township or township of; M. - Michaelmas; L.D. - Lady Day.