Sir Rhys Griffith, Knt.

From Darrell Wolcott, Center for the Study of Ancient Wales: " Gruffudd ap Heilyn had a single known child, Gwilym born c. 1300. He was the ancestor of both the Griffith family of Penrhyn and the Williams family of Cochwillan. No "Rhys ap Rhys ap Gruffudd ap Heilyn" is found in any of the sources which Bartrum assembled." Please see also Dictionary of Welsh Biography, p. 839,(https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1356) for the correct lineage. (Steven Ferry, June 25, 2020.)

Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir (Gruffudd ap HEILIN , of Penrhyn6, Heilin ap TUDOR , of Y Nant5, Tudor ab EDNYFED4, Ednyfed "Fychan" ap CYNWRIG3, Cynwrig ab IORWERTH2, Iorwerth ap GWGON1) was born BEF 1288 in Llansadwrn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 10 MAY 1356 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

Family

From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=jweber&id=I26668

He married Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor BEF 1339 in Settlement date, daughter of Philip SOMERVILLE , of Wychnor & Cossington, Sir and Margaret de PYPE. She was born ABT 1310 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 1376.

	  Children of Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir and Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor are:

*Rhys II "Jevan" ap GRIFFITH , of Abermarlais, Sir was born ABT 25 DEC 1325 in Abermarlais, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 27 MAY 1380 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

• ii. Henry GRIFFITH , of Wychnor & Long Benton, Sir was born ABT 1332 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 25 MAY 1372 in Longbenton, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England. He married Joan CLINTON , Heiress of Coleshill BEF 1371 in 3rd husband 2nd wife, daughter of John III CLINTON , of Coleshill, Sir and Joan HILLARY. She was born BET 1341 AND 1342 in Coleshill Manor, Arden, Warwickshire, England, and died BEF 1386

Children listed at http://thesignsofthetimes.com.au/37/694668.htm

• Thomas AP RHYS HÊN de Somervill
• Rhys Ieuanc AP RHYS HÊN
• Henry AP RHYS HÊN
• Margred FERCH RHYS HÊN

Notes

From https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1356

Son of Gruffydd ap Hywel ap Gruffydd ab Ednyfed Fychan by Nest, daughter of Gwrwared ap Gwilym of Cemais. He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th century, and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement ...

From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I26668

Rhys [Hen] ap Gruffydd married Joan de Somerville by 1339. She was a great heiress, which vaulted Rhys and his family into the limelight (and made Griffith their surname instead of a temporary patronym). Sir Philip de Somervill died 23 Jan. 29 Edw. III, holding land or moieties in (approximately) one manor in Yorkshire, three in Leicestershire, one in Warwick, one in Derby, fourteen in Northumberland, one in Lincoln, and three in Stafford (CIPM 10:220-5). Rees ap Griffyn and his wife Joan (Sir Philip's daughter, aged 40 and more), are mentioned frequently. The IPM of Rees ap Griffith/ap Gruffutz [sic] the elder, knight, states that he died 10 May 30 Edward III, and held manors or land at Stokton, co. Warwick, Staynton, Benton and Wytton, co. Northumberland (held in right of his wife Joan), Orreby, co. Lincoln, Alrewas, Whichenover, Briddeshall and Tatenhull, co. Stafford, Blacwelle, co. Derby and in Nottingham. His wife, Joan, who "survies" was aged 40 and more [much more], and his son and heir Rees ap Griffutz was aged 30 years and more "at Christmas last." (CIPM 10:274-6). He also held land in Lansadorn, Talliares, Combleant, Kilsayn, Kayo, Matihlayn, Maynordeill, Ketheynoc, Kergerwyn, Perveth, Langiby, Bettous, Lanrustud, Generglyn, Pennarth, Lampeder, Drusselan, Glycothy and Penneynt, all in South Wales. [Paul Reed (Reedpcgen), soc.genealogy.medieval, newsgroup, 31 Jul 1998]

From http://thesignsofthetimes.com.au/37/694667.htm

He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th cent., and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement. It would appear that he inherited the family estates centred on the manor of Llansadwrn in Cantref Mawr directly from his grandfather. He first appears in the records as steward of Cardigan in 1309, and in the course of the next few years he acquired other offices of profit in south-west Wales. It was, however, the support which he gave to the Despensers which in 1322 brought him into a position of real eminence when he was appointed deputy to the royal justice in South Wales, given leases of Dinefwr and Dryslwyn, granted the lordship of Narberth, and made sheriff of Carmarthen with custody of the town and castle. In consequence he was deeply involved in the crisis over the abdication of Edward II in 1327, and may only have escaped complete destruction by a hasty flight to Scotland. A little later he was restored in possession of his lands, but again in 1330 he was obliged to seek asylum overseas because of his part in a premature attempt to unseat the regents. Later in the same year, when the personal power of Edward III was at last established, Rhys was recalled, was eventually restored to many important offices, and henceforth until his death played a leading role among the Welshmen of his day in furthering Edward's foreign adventures. In all the Scottish expeditions between 1310 and 1341, and afterwards in the French campaigns, he figures not only as the organizer of native levies in south-west Wales, but as an active campaigner and the most prominent of the Welsh captains. He was knighted between June and Nov. 1346, possibly after Crecy at which battle he was present. But he was not to see the second great military triumph of the reign, for he d. a few months before Poitiers, on 10 May 1356, at Carmarthen, where he was interred, possibly in the church of S. Peter in which his grandfather was buried. Meanwhile he had m. Joan de Somerville, a wealthy heiress who had brought him land in as many as six English counties, which, with phenomenally extensive properties in Carmarthen and Cardigan, passed to his son, Sir RHYS THE YOUNGER (b. 1325). These unusually large Welsh estates for the period in which Sir Rhys flourished, and indeed the first of their kind in Wales, continued in the hands of his male descendants until the marriage towards the close of the 15th cent. of a sole remaining female descendant with Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas of Dinefwr; the eldest son of that union was Sir Rhys ap Thomas... Among other interesting family connections, Sir Rhys was related to Sir Gruffydd Llwyd..., and to the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (a son of his maternal cousin), who has included certain references to Sir Rhys in a poem composed about 1346. There is also a poem by Iolo Goch in Rhys's honour. 2

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https://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p748.htm#...

Sir Rhys ap Griffith, Sheriff of Carmarthen, Lord Whichnor1,2,3,4,5
Last Edited 4 Apr 2020
M, #22457, b. before 1288, d. 10 May 1356 Father Gruffudd ap Hywel, Lord of Llansadwrn1,5 b. c 1265 Mother Nesta ferch Gwrwared1,5 b. c 1254

    Sir Rhys ap Griffith, Sheriff of Carmarthen, Lord Whichnor was born before 1288 at of Wichnor, Staffordshire, England; Of age by 1309.1,5 A settlement for the marriage Sir Rhys ap Griffith, Sheriff of Carmarthen, Lord Whichnor and Joan de Somerville was made on 12 February 1325; They had 3 sons (Sir Rhys; Thomas; & Sir Henry).1,6,3,4,5 Sir Rhys ap Griffith, Sheriff of Carmarthen, Lord Whichnor died on 10 May 1356 at Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Wales, England; Buried at Carmarthen Priory.1,6,5 Family Joan de Somerville b. c 1305, d. 8 Oct 1376 Children	 Sir Henry ap Rhys ap Griffith7,6,3,4,5 d. 15 May 1372 Sir Rhys ap Rhys ap Griffith, Lord Whichnor+5 b. c 25 Dec 1325, d. 26 May 1380 Margred ferch Rhys "Hen"+8 b. c 1326 Citations [S3715] Unknown author, Douglas Richardson's Research Notes. [S6733] Unknown author, Wallop Family, p. 391. [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 152. [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. IV, p. 139-140. [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. IV, p. 664-665. [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 58. [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 277. [S61] Unknown author, Family Group Sheets, Family History Archives, SLC. ________________________________________________________________________-

Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir (Gruffudd ap HEILIN , of Penrhyn6, Heilin ap TUDOR , of Y Nant5, Tudor ab EDNYFED4, Ednyfed "Fychan" ap CYNWRIG3, Cynwrig ab IORWERTH2, Iorwerth ap GWGON1) was born BEF 1288 in Llansadwrn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 10 MAY 1356 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

Family

From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=jweber&id=I26668

He married Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor BEF 1339 in Settlement date, daughter of Philip SOMERVILLE , of Wychnor & Cossington, Sir and Margaret de PYPE. She was born ABT 1310 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 1376.

	  Children of Rhys "Hen" ap GRIFFITH , of Llansadwrn, Sir and Joan SOMERVILLE , Heiress of Wychnor are:

*Rhys II "Jevan" ap GRIFFITH , of Abermarlais, Sir was born ABT 25 DEC 1325 in Abermarlais, Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, Wales, and died 27 MAY 1380 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England.

• ii. Henry GRIFFITH , of Wychnor & Long Benton, Sir was born ABT 1332 in Wychnor, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and died 25 MAY 1372 in Longbenton, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England. He married Joan CLINTON , Heiress of Coleshill BEF 1371 in 3rd husband 2nd wife, daughter of John III CLINTON , of Coleshill, Sir and Joan HILLARY. She was born BET 1341 AND 1342 in Coleshill Manor, Arden, Warwickshire, England, and died BEF 1386

Notes

From https://biography.wales/article/s-RHYS-APG-1356

Son of Gruffydd ap Hywel ap Gruffydd ab Ednyfed Fychan by Nest, daughter of Gwrwared ap Gwilym of Cemais. He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th century, and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement ...

From https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I26668

Rhys [Hen] ap Gruffydd married Joan de Somerville by 1339. She was a great heiress, which vaulted Rhys and his family into the limelight (and made Griffith their surname instead of a temporary patronym). Sir Philip de Somervill died 23 Jan. 29 Edw. III, holding land or moieties in (approximately) one manor in Yorkshire, three in Leicestershire, one in Warwick, one in Derby, fourteen in Northumberland, one in Lincoln, and three in Stafford (CIPM 10:220-5). Rees ap Griffyn and his wife Joan (Sir Philip's daughter, aged 40 and more), are mentioned frequently. The IPM of Rees ap Griffith/ap Gruffutz [sic] the elder, knight, states that he died 10 May 30 Edward III, and held manors or land at Stokton, co. Warwick, Staynton, Benton and Wytton, co. Northumberland (held in right of his wife Joan), Orreby, co. Lincoln, Alrewas, Whichenover, Briddeshall and Tatenhull, co. Stafford, Blacwelle, co. Derby and in Nottingham. His wife, Joan, who "survies" was aged 40 and more [much more], and his son and heir Rees ap Griffutz was aged 30 years and more "at Christmas last." (CIPM 10:274-6). He also held land in Lansadorn, Talliares, Combleant, Kilsayn, Kayo, Matihlayn, Maynordeill, Ketheynoc, Kergerwyn, Perveth, Langiby, Bettous, Lanrustud, Generglyn, Pennarth, Lampeder, Drusselan, Glycothy and Penneynt, all in South Wales. [Paul Reed (Reedpcgen), soc.genealogy.medieval, newsgroup, 31 Jul 1998]

From http://thesignsofthetimes.com.au/37/694667.htm

He was the wealthiest and most influential figure among the native gentry of the 14th cent., and in his career is crystallized the attitude and aspirations of those members of his class who lent support to the Angevin cause in Wales during the first century of the English settlement. It would appear that he inherited the family estates centred on the manor of Llansadwrn in Cantref Mawr directly from his grandfather. He first appears in the records as steward of Cardigan in 1309, and in the course of the next few years he acquired other offices of profit in south-west Wales. It was, however, the support which he gave to the Despensers which in 1322 brought him into a position of real eminence when he was appointed deputy to the royal justice in South Wales, given leases of Dinefwr and Dryslwyn, granted the lordship of Narberth, and made sheriff of Carmarthen with custody of the town and castle. In consequence he was deeply involved in the crisis over the abdication of Edward II in 1327, and may only have escaped complete destruction by a hasty flight to Scotland. A little later he was restored in possession of his lands, but again in 1330 he was obliged to seek asylum overseas because of his part in a premature attempt to unseat the regents. Later in the same year, when the personal power of Edward III was at last established, Rhys was recalled, was eventually restored to many important offices, and henceforth until his death played a leading role among the Welshmen of his day in furthering Edward's foreign adventures. In all the Scottish expeditions between 1310 and 1341, and afterwards in the French campaigns, he figures not only as the organizer of native levies in south-west Wales, but as an active campaigner and the most prominent of the Welsh captains. He was knighted between June and Nov. 1346, possibly after Crecy at which battle he was present. But he was not to see the second great military triumph of the reign, for he d. a few months before Poitiers, on 10 May 1356, at Carmarthen, where he was interred, possibly in the church of S. Peter in which his grandfather was buried. Meanwhile he had m. Joan de Somerville, a wealthy heiress who had brought him land in as many as six English counties, which, with phenomenally extensive properties in Carmarthen and Cardigan, passed to his son, Sir RHYS THE YOUNGER (b. 1325). These unusually large Welsh estates for the period in which Sir Rhys flourished, and indeed the first of their kind in Wales, continued in the hands of his male descendants until the marriage towards the close of the 15th cent. of a sole remaining female descendant with Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas of Dinefwr; the eldest son of that union was Sir Rhys ap Thomas... Among other interesting family connections, Sir Rhys was related to Sir Gruffydd Llwyd..., and to the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (a son of his maternal cousin), who has included certain references to Sir Rhys in a poem composed about 1346. There is also a poem by Iolo Goch in Rhys's honour. 2

—-

https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhys_ap_Gruffudd_(Llansadwrn)

Syr Rhys ap Gruffudd o Lansadwrn (c. 1283-1356) oedd un o uchelwyr blaenaf de-orllewin Cymru ar ddiwedd y 13eg a dechrau'r 14g.[1] Bywgraffiad[golygu | golygu cod y dudalen]
Mab i Ruffudd ap Hywel, cefnder y swyddog grymus Gruffudd Llwyd, oedd Syr Rhys, ac felly'n ddisgynydd uniongyrchol yn y bedwaredd genhedlaeth i Ednyfed Fychan, distain Llywelyn Fawr. Yn y cyfnod 1310-1340 bu'n dal amryw o swyddi a theitlau yng ngwasanaeth brenin Lloegr yn y dde-orllewin, a chwaraeodd ran bwysig yn y gwaith o recriwtio Cymry lleol ar gyfer rhyfeloedd brenhinoedd Lloegr yn Ffrainc a llefydd eraill. Arweiniodd Syr Rhys filwyr o'r de-orllewin i ryfela yn yr Alban a Ffrainc. Roedd yn un o arweinwyr y Cymru ym Mrwydr Crécy yn 1346, ac efallai mai ar ôl y frwydr yma y'i gwnaed yn farchog. Rhoddwyd march du iddo gan y Tywysog Du yn Normandi yn 1349. I bob pwrpas, Syr Rhys oedd llywodraethwr de-orllewin Cymru yn hanner cyntaf y 14g. Cafodd ei apwyntio'n Ddirpwy Ustus Tywysogaeth De Cymru deirgwaith.[2] Roedd ganddo diroedd bras yn ardal Dyffryn Teifi ac Ystrad Tywi ac ystad yn Llanrhystud. Mae'n bosibl mai ef a adeiladodd blasdy Abermarlais.[2]

Roedd yn noddwr i'r bardd a gramadegydd o glerigwr Einion Offeiriad (c.1300-1349); mae lle i gredu mai er anrhydedd i Rys y lluniodd Einion ei ramadeg barddol enwog. Canodd awdl iddo yn ogystal