Anwyl of Tywyn family

Anwyl of Tywyn
Current region Gwynedd
Members Evan Vaughan Anwyl of Ty-Mawr
Traditions Motto: Eryr eryrod Eryri (Eagle of the Eagles of Snowdonia)

Anwyl of Tywyn (Anwyl pronounced [anʊɨl]) are a Welsh family who trace their descent to Owain Gwynedd. They claim direct patrilinear descent from Owain, who was King of Gwynedd from 1137 to 1170 and a scion of the royal House of Aberffraw. The family motto is: Eryr eryrod Eryri, which translates as "The Eagle of the Eagles of Snowdonia."[1] The family still live in Gwynedd and speak Welsh.

The name Anwyl means "beloved", "dear", or "loved one" in English.[2][3][4]

Descent from Owain Gwynedd (died 1170) to James ap Maredudd (died c.1402)

These records were attested by William Lewis Annwill in 1611 and certified in Heraldic Visitations of the Three Counties of North Wales above Conway by Lewis Dwnn (completed 1613). Published as Heraldic Visitations of Wales and part of the Marches by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in 1846 and republished by Bridge Books in 2005. Anwyl Family found in Volume II, pp69–71.

In the book Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales; Section V (Old and Extinct Families of Merionethshire) (published 1872) by Thomas Nicholas the descendants of Rhodri ab Owain are described;

"Thomas (ap Rhodri ap Owain), Lord of Rhiw Llwyd, married Agnes, daughter of Einion ap Seissyllt, Lord of Mathafarn, widow of Owain Brogyntyn, Lord of Edeirnion. His descendants, Lords of Rhiw Llwyd, were successively Caradog, Gruffydd, Dafydd, and Hywel, who married Efa, daughter of Ifan ap Howel ap Meredydd of Ystumcegid, of the line of Collwyn ap Tangno, founder of the fourth noble tribe of Wales."[1]


  1. Robert ap Maredudd
  2. James (Evan) ap Maredudd[5]


According to Philip Yorke in his book The Royal Tribes of Wales (published 1799);[6]

"The father of James and Robert was Maredudd ab Hywel ab Dafydd ab Gruffudd ab Thomas ab Rodri, Lord of Anglesey, ab Owain Gwynedd, as is evident by the Extent of North Wales, in the twenty-sixth of Edward the Third. During Robert ab Maredudd's time, the inheritance, which descended to him and his brother James, was not parted after the custom of the country, by gavelkind, but James being married -enjoyed both houses, Cefn y fan and Cesail Gyfarch. From Robert, who did not marry till near eighty, descended the houses of Gwydir, Cesail Gyfarch, and Hafod Lwyfog; and Sir John the historian, his descendant, says, he was the elder brother; from James ab Maredudd, who was Constable of Cricieth, the families of Rhiwaedog, Clenenneu, Ystumcegid, Brynkir and Park."

The family who resided at Parc came to be known as the Anwyl of Park family, with Anwyl taking various spellings over the years. The sons of Maredudd ap Hywel, Robert and James, took opposing sides during the last war of Welsh independence led by Owain Glyndwr between 1400 and c.1412. Robert, the elder brother and the ancestor of the Wynn of Gwydir family sided with Glyndwr but survived the war receiving a Royal Pardon from Henry IV and later by his son Henry V. James, the younger son, opposed Glyndwr. According to Philip Yorke he had matched his son Maredudd ab James with the daughter of Einion ab Ithel, who belonged to the House of Lancaster. James ab Maredudd held steadfastly to that house when Owain Glyndwr rebelled so that in the time of that war he had the charge of Caernarfon town and held it for the Crown of England. In revenge for this Owain Glyndwr burned his two houses; Cefn y fan or Ystumcegid and Cesail Gyfarch. James ap Maredudd was killed during the continuance of this war at Caernarfon and his body evacuated by sea to be buried at Penmorfa.[7]

Descent from Jeuan ap Maredudd (died c.1402) to William Lewis Annwill (died 1642)

According to Philip Yorke;

"To John ab Maredudd his kindred and friends cleaved steadfastly, like courageous men: so then it began to be a proverb or phrase, to call the family of Owain Gwynedd Tylwyth John ab Maredudd, the race of John ab Maredudd."

From Robert ap Morys the family were known as the Anwyl of Parc Family, after their abode near Penrhyndeudraeth at this time.

William Lewis Annwill had his pedigree certified by William Hughes and John Davies in 1611 which was then included in the work Heraldic Visitations of the Three Counties of North Wales above Conway by Lewis Dwnn (completed 1613). This was copied and printed in 1846 by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick and then reprinted in 2005.

Descent from William Lewis Annwill (died 1642) to Evan Vaughan Anwyl (born 1943)

This pedigree of William Lewis Annwill has been certified and published by Burkes Peerage (Landed Gentry, Wales 100057).

Thomas Nicholas in 1872 said of him;

"William Lewis Anwyl, Esq., of Parc, Sheriff of Merioneth 1611, 1624, who married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Edward Herbert, Esquire, of Cemmaes, in Cyfeiliog, grandson of Sir Richard Herbert, Kt...By her he left a numerous offspring of 8 sons and 4 daughters."

William Lewis Anwyl had eight sons (who survived to maturity), viz;

  1. Lewis (died 1633 without male issue)
  2. Robert (died 1653 with issue. William Lewis Anwyl of Park (Robert's only grandson) was buried in Westminster Abbey 1701 and this line expires.)
  3. John (died 1660 without male issue)
  4. Edward (died 1674 without male issue)
  5. William (died 1694 with issue. His descendants in the male line continued until the death of David Anwyl of Bala in 1831)
  6. Evan (died 1666 with issue. His descendants in the male line survive to the present day. His side of the family became the senior in 1831)
  7. Emmanuel (died 1646 without issue)
  8. Richard (died 1685 without male issue)[8]

Descendants of William Anwyl (5)

Descendants of Evan Anwyl (6)

The present Anwyl of Tywyn Family descend from the sixth son, Evan (Ieuan), whose descendants became head of the family on the deaths of his brothers and their male issue.

Maurice Anwyl is recorded by Thomas Nicholas in Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales (1872);

"The ancient family of Anwyl have resided at Llugwy from the time when Maurice Anwyl (circa 1695) m. Joan, the heiress of that place, but previously for many ages at Parc, in the parish of Llanfrothen, in the same county of Merionethshire. There Lewys Dwnn, Deputy Herald, found them, in the 16th century, when pursuing his Heraldic Visitation of Wales; and there they had then been seated for several generations. Their lineage is from Owain Gwynedd, the illustrious Prince of North Wales (12th cent.), son of Prince Gruffudd ap Cynan, of the direct line (through the eldest son, Anarawd) of Rhodri Mawr, King, first of N. Wales, then of all Wales (9th cent.)."

Maurice had issue;

Descendants of Evan Anwyl (b.1718)

Foreign royal ancestry

Through Owain's father Gruffudd ap Cynan the Anwyl of Tywyn family are descendants of Amlaíb mac Sitriuc and his father Sigtrygg Silkbeard, King of Dublin, of the famous Uí Ímair or House of Ivar. Amlaíb's maternal grandfather was the mighty Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, and his paternal grandmother Gormflaith ingen Murchada, wife of Amlaíb Cuaran, King of York and King of Dublin.

Evan Vaughan Anwyl of Ty-Mawr

Coat of arms of the descendants of Evan Anwyl

Evan Vaughan Anwyl (born 9 December 1943) is the current head of the Anwyl of Tywyn Family whose male line ancestors are claimed to extend back to William Lewis Anwyl and beyond that to Owain Gwynedd and Rhodri Mawr. He resides in Tywyn, Gwynedd (formerly Merioneth: Welsh: Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionydd), in north Wales, and speaks Welsh.[9]

Evan Vaughan Anwyl was educated at Tywyn Grammar School[9] and then the University of Wales Aberystwyth[9] where he was awarded a BSc in 1967 and DipEd in 1968. He resides at Ty Mawr, Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales.

Recently he has been interviewed by Byron Rogers for the book Three Journeys, an excerpt of which was published in Cambria Magazine in June 2011. Concerning his extraordinary heritage, Mr. Anwyl is on record as saying,

"History was never a favourite subject of mine. We've always been humble farmers, that is until I and my two sisters became teachers. We've always been proud of our family history, but amongst ourselves, beyond that, no."[10]

The coat of arms of this family are described (by Thomas Nicholas in 1872) as follows;

  1. Vert, three eagles displayed in fesse Or (Owain Gwynedd), a fleur-de-lis Or for difference 6th son (Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd)
  2. Sable, a chevron between three fleurs-de-lis argent (Collwyn ap Tangno)
  3. Vert, a chevron between three wolves' heads erased argent (Rhirid Flaidd)
  4. Per pale azur and gules, three lions rampant argent (Herbert of Cemmaes)
  5. Argent, an eagle displayed with two necks sable (Meurig Llwyd of Llwyn y Maes)
  6. Argent a lion passant sable between three fleurs-de-lis gules (Einion ap Seissylt)

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales, p. 699
  2. ↑ Internet Surname Database
  3. ↑ Variants include Anwell, Anwil, Anwill, Anwyll
  4. ↑ US Census 1920s
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches, Vol.2, pp69-71
  6. ↑ The Royal Tribes of Wales, p15
  7. ↑ The Royal Tribes of Wales, p14
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Burkes Peerage (online), Landed Gentry, Wales, 19th Edition. (Ref. 100057)
  9. 1 2 3 Burke's Peerage
  10. ↑ Rogers, Byron (excerpt) Three Journeys, published in Cambria Magazine (June 2011), p.30-31

References

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