Williams family, of Edwinsford

Family

Williams family, of Edwinsford

The Edwinsford estate stands midway between Llansawel and Talley near the banks of the river Cothi. The original owner of Edwinsford was Meurig Goch and the oldest part of the building probably dates to the Elizabethan period. It was extended during the seventeenth century then later extensively renovated in the nineteenth century. The Williams (later Drummond Williams) family of Edwinsford intermarried with the Vaughans of Golden Grove, so adding to both estates. From the mid-twentieth century Edwinsford fell into decay. According to a 1873 return, the last possessor, Sir James Hamlyn Williams Williams-Drummond, who died in 1970, owned an estimated 9,282 acres in Carmarthenshire at an estimated annual rental of ℗Đ6,358. The Williams family contributed notably to Carmarthenshire civic and political life, with eight High Sheriffs, two Lords Lieutenants, three Members of Parliament, as well as numerous Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace to their credit. Sir Francis Dudley Williams Drummond (1863-1935) chronicled his family history in Annals of Edwinsford, Clovelly and Hawthorn-den (1924). The first owners of Golden Grove (Gelli Aur) near Bronwydd in Carmarthenshire were the Vaughan family during the sixteenth century. The estate was taken over by the Cawdor family in 1804 and, between 1827 and 1832, John Frederick Campbell, second baron Cawdor, completely rebuilt the original Tudor mansion. The 5th Earl of Cawdor, John Duncan Vaughan Campbell (1900-1970), leased Golden Grove to Carmarthenshire County Council. Its grounds today are open to the public as a country park and the buildings themselves house Carmarthenshire Agricultural College.

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