Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1345-1928 / (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
4.891 cubic metres (171 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Brecknockshire family of Maybery originally came from Worcestershire, where they were engaged in the iron industry. In 1753, Thomas Maybery acquired the Brecon furnace and Pipton forge for his son, John Maybery, who leased mineral properties in Hirwaun, Brecknockshire, in 1757 and the Tredegar forge, Glamorgan, in 1764, and was one of the earliest pioneers of the South Wales iron industry. John Maybery married a daughter of John Wilkins, the deputy prothonotary of the Brecon circuit of the Court of Great Sessions, who became associated with his son-in-law in the Hirwaun enterprise. John Maybery died in 1784; his descendants pursued legal careers. Thomas Maybery, John's eldest son (d. 1829), succeeded his uncle, William Wilkins, as prothonotary of the Brecon circuit, and his eldest son, Walter Maybery (1800-1862), was the last to hold that office. His second son, Henry Maybery, who was treasurer of the county of Brecon and deputy-registrar of the Brecon Consistory Court, became the head of the firm of Maybery, Williams, and Cobb, who were themselves the successors of the firm of solicitors Walter and John Powell, later Powell, Jones, and Powell. They were the chief legal advisers to the great ironmasters and were responsible for drawing up most of the early mineral leases. The family invested in many industrial enterprises in the 19th century, including ironworks, collieries, the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal, the Brecon Boat Co. and the Brecon Turnpike Trust.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Mrs M. Fowler, Brecon, 1953.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Industrial records, 1720-1875, of the Maybery family and of the clients of Powell and Jones, solicitors, mainly relating to the iron industry in Brecknockshire and Glamorgan, but including also papers relating to the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal, 1792-1860, the Brecon Boat Co., 1818-1855, and the Brecon Turnpike Trust, 1828-1840; clients deeds, correspondence, etc., mainly 18th-20th century, including manor records, 1520-1844, mainly in Breconshire, family letters, newspaper cuttings, photographs, deeds and documents relating to the Maybery family and their relatives, the Cobbs and the de Wintons, 19th-20th century, office records of Messrs W. and J. Powell and their successors, 1790-1865, and papers of John Lloyd (1833-1915), historian of the South Wales iron industry.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: All records deposited at the National Library of Wales have been retained..
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged into records of industrial interest, 1720-1906, correspondence of industrial interest, 1760-1875, and miscellaneous items, 1345-1928.
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 regulations apply.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Latin, English, Welsh.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales; part of the archive, mainly clients's papers, remains uncatalogued. The catalogue can be accessed online. Much of the archive remains uncatalogued. Further details relating to manorial records within the archive can be accessed on-line from the Manorial Documents Register
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
John Lloyd, The early history of the old South Wales Iron Works (1760 to 1840): from original documents (London, 1906), The Great Forest of Brecknock: history of the forest from the conquest of England to the present time (from original documents) (London, 1905), and Historical Memoranda of Breconshire: a collection of papers from various sources relating to the history of the county (Brecon, 1903) are based on material in this archive.
Notes area
Note
Title compiled from content of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Subject access points
- Boats and boating -- Wales.
- Canals -- Wales -- Powys.
- Iron industry and trade -- Wales -- Breconshire -- History -- Sources.
- Manors -- Wales -- Breconshire.
- Toll roads -- Wales -- Powys.
- Iron industry and trade -- Wales -- Glamorgan -- History -- Sources.
- Breconshire (Wales)
- Abergavenny (Wales)
- Brecon (Wales)
- Brecon and Abergavenny Canal (Wales)
Place access points
Name access points
- Brecon Boat Company -- Records and correspondence (Subject)
- Brecknockshire Turnpike Trust -- Records and correspondence (Subject)
- Brecon Boat Company. (Subject)
- Brecknockshire Turnpike Trust. (Subject)
- Maybery, Williams and Cobb. (Subject)
- Lloyd, John, 1833-1915 -- Archives (Subject)
- Maybery family of Breconshire -- Archives (Subject)
- Cobb family, of Powys -- Archives (Subject)
- de Winton family, of Powys -- Archives (Subject)
- Lloyd, John, 1833-1915 (Subject)
- Cobb family, of Powys (Subject)
- De Winton family, of Brecon (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
March 2003
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Seri Crawley for the ANW Project. The following sources were used for the preparation of the description: NLW, Schedule of the Maybery Collection; NLW Annual Report, 1952-3.
Archivist's note
Correction to file 6973 made by Lucie Hobson, August 2022.