Fonds GB 0210 GLYNNE - Glynne of Hawarden estate records

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0210 GLYNNE

Title

Glynne of Hawarden estate records

Date(s)

  • 1304-1899 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

1.144 cubic metres (58 boxes, 53 volumes)

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

The ancestry of the Glynnes of Hawarden can be traced back, through the Glynnes of Glynllifon, Caernarfonshire, to Cilmin Droed-ddu, the founder of the fourth noble tribe of Gwynedd.

Sir John Glynne (1602-66), second son of Sir William Glynne of Glynllifon, who succeeded his brother Thomas to the Glynllifon estate, purchased the castle and manor of Hawarden, together with the estate in 1654. Like his brother he was a parliamentarian during the Civil war. He became recorder of London and afterwards Lord Chief Justice. He was succeeded by Sir William Glynne, bart (d. 1689), who had represented Caernarfonshire in Richard Cromwell's parliament. The estate and title then passed to Sir William Glynne, 2nd bart (d. 1721), eldest son of Sir William Glynne; to his brother Sir Stephen Glynne, 3rd bart (d. 1729); and to his eldest son, Sir Stephen Glynne, 4th bart (d. 1729). He died soon afterwards and the title and estate passed to his brother, Sir William Glynne, 5th bart (1709-30), who died unmarried.

He was succeeded by his brother, Sir John Glynne, 6th bart (1713-1777), who married Honora Conway, daughter and heiress of Henry Conway of Broadlane House, granddaughter of Thomas Ravencourt. This marriage doubled the size of the Hawarden estate. It was on the site of Broadlane House that Sir John built the residential castle of Hawarden in 1752, which was extended in 1809. Sir John Glynne served as M.P. for Flintshire 1741-1747, and for Flint 1753-1777. He was succeeded by his third son, the Rev. Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 7th bart (d. 1780), rector of Hawarden. His heir was Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 8th bart (1780-1815) who was only a month old when his father died.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 9th bart. (1807-1874). who served as Liberal M.P. for Flint boroughs, 1832-1837, and for Flintshire 1837-1847. He died without issue and the title therefore became extinct and the estate passed by arrangement to his nephew, William Henry Gladstone, eldest son of William Ewart Gladstone, who had married Catherine, daughter of Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, 8th bart. Sir Stephen's second son, the Rev. Henry Glynne (d. 1872), rector of Hawarden, married Lavina, daughter of William Henry, 3rd Lord Lyttelton, while his second daughter, Mary, married George William, Lord Lyttelton.

The estate, all of which was situated in Flintshire, measured 4,773 acres in 1873 and carried a rental of #12,636.

Archival history

A calendar of some of the deeds was prepared by Mr Francis Green for Mr Gladstone before the collection was transferred to NLW on deposit. Francis Green's arrangement of the deeds has been retained; the remainder have been arranged at NLW.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Deposited by the Henry Neville, Baron Gladstone, in 1935.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Estate records, including deeds and documents, 1304-1887, relating to the estates of the Glynnes in Flintshire and elsewhere. The first three centuries covered by the deeds relate largely to the Ravenscroft family, their property, and their legal transactions. A large body of the documents relate to the period when Sir John Glynne, 6th bart., was the occupier of the estate. Other estate records include accounts, rentals, estate, household, and personal accounts, inventories, election expenses, colliery accounts, lists of charities distributed, estate maps, plans, surveys, bills, vouchers, etc., 1690-1872, including rentals of the lordship of Hawarden, 1686-1886. -- Amongst the personal papers are the diaries and account books of Sir John Glynne, 1753-1757, the diaries of the Rev. Stephen Glynne, 1798-1824, Mary Glynne, afterwards Lady Lyttelton, 1824-1831, Stephen Richard Glynne, 1825-1874, and W. H. Gladstone whilst at Eton College, 1856-1857; travel journals through North Wales, 1824, South Wales, 1824, Scotland, 1839, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Belguim, Greece and Austria, 1834-1866, Turkey, 1848, Egypt, 1850, and Palestine, 1850. -- The archive also includes election papers such as lists of voters, canvass returns, accounts, relating to Flintshire elections, 1727-1837, letters written by and to members of the Glynne family and to Gladstone; notes on history, genealogy and ecclesiology; ships' log-books, 1727-1730 and 1734-1739. -- A separate group of legal papers which belonged to a lawyer named Dovey, relate mainly to bankrupts, and their immediate relevance to the Glynne family is not very obvious.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

All records deposited at NLW have been retained.

Accruals

Accruals are not expected.

System of arrangement

Arranged chronologically within the following two sections: Hawarden deeds and Glynne of Hawarden family papers and documents.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

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

Conditions governing reproduction

Usual copyright laws apply.

Language of material

  • English
  • Latin

Script of material

Language and script notes

English, Latin.

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Hard copies of the catalogues are available at NLW.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

A number of maps are in National Library of Wales, Map Collections. Some printed books owned by the family are also held by NLW. Further papers relating the Glynne family of Hawarden is Flintshire Record Office, D/BJ, D/HA, D/LJ and the Glynne-Gladstone MSS at St Deiniol's Library. Any enquiries about the latter archive should, however, be made at the Flintshire Record Office. Further material about the relevant Flintshire elections are NLW MSS 6313-15C, 6319-21E.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Title based on contents of fonds.

Alternative identifier(s)

Virtua system control number

vtls004250338

GEAC system control number

(WlAbNL)0000250338

Access points

Place access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

June 2001.

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Dictionary of Welsh Biography to 1940, (London, 1959); Griffith, John Edwards, Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families, (Wrexham, 1998 reprint), Nicholas, Thomas, Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, (London, 2 vols, 1872), vol. II; James, Brian, 'The Great Landowners of Wales in 1873', National Library of Wales Journal, XIV, (1965-66), Whittaker, W.E.B., 'The Glynnes of Hawarden', Transactions of the Flintshire Historical Society, vol. IV. (1906).

Archivist's note

Compiled by Mair James.

Accession area