Edward Penny 1714-1791 Portrait of the Reverend William Powell (1705-1780), D.c.l.

Edward Penny , 1714–1791

Portrait of the Reverend William Powell (1705-1780), D.C.L of Nanteos

Reverend William Powell, D.C.L of Nanteos, 1705-1780

oil on canvas

30 x 25 in. (76 x 64 cm.)

POWELL family, of Nanteos (and anciently of Llechwedd-dyrus ), near Aberystwyth . This family claims descent from Edwin ap Gronow of Tegeingl . Dafydd ap Philip ap Hywel is said to have been the first ‘ap Hywel (whence Powell) connected with Llechwedd-dyrus , the first seat of the family; his wife, according to Pen. MS. 156 (see West Wales Hist. Records , i), was daughter of John ap Edward of Nanteos . Their grandson, Sir THOMAS POWELL , Serjeant-at-law ( 1688 ), a Baron of the Exchequer , and ‘ Judge of the King's Bench in Kg. James the Second 's time’ ( Pen. MS. 156 ), m. Elizabeth , daughter and heiress of David Lloyd ( Gwyn ) of Aberbrwynen , and was the father of WILLIAM POWELL . The latter m. Avarina , daughter of Cornelius le Brun by his wife, Ann , daughter and co-heiress of John Jones of Nanteos . William Powell 's eldest son, THOMAS POWELL (d. 1752 ); was Member of Parliament for Cardigan borough , 1725-7 and 1729-30 , and for Cardigan county , 1721 , 1742-7 . His wife was Mary , grand-daughter of Sir John Frederick , lord mayor of London ( 1662 ). Thomas Powell gave £50 towards restoring Cardigan church in 1748 . He d. 16 Nov. 1752 , his estate devolving upon his only surviving brother,

The Rev. WILLIAM POWELL ( 1705 - 1780 ), D.C.L. ( John Powell , the other brother, had d. in Africa ; see Pen. MS. 156 ). William Powell went from Hereford School to S. John's College , Oxford , 14 Jan. 1722/3 , aged 17 (matriculated 1723 , B.A. 1726/7 , M.A. 1730 ). He was ordained deacon ( diocese of Lincoln ) 19 Sept. 1731 and became curate of Elton, Hunts. He was created doctor of civil law , 8 July 1763 , being then of Nanteos, Cards. ( Scott-Mayor , iii, 358; Foster , Alumni Oxon. ). Dr. Powell figures prominently in the ‘ Morris Letters ’ — for page references see ‘ Index of Persons ’ by Hugh Owen ( 1942 ) — owing to the dispute with Lewis Morris (q.v.) over Cardiganshire mines and mining; for details see D. Lleufer Thomas , ‘ Lewis Morris in Cardiganshire ,’ in Cymm. , xv. His son, by his wife Elizabeth , daughter and co-heiress of Athelstan Owen , Rhiwsaeson, Mont. (q.v.) , and Anna Corbet (of Ynysmaengwyn , Merioneth ), was THOMAS POWELL ( 1745? - 1797 ), who m. Eleanor , eldest daughter of Edward Maurice Corbet , also of Ynysmaengwyn . Thomas Powell , who was sheriff of Cardiganshire in 1785 , figures in the annals of the Welsh School , London (now continued as the Welsh Girls’ School , Ashford , Middlesex ); e.g., he laid the foundation stone of the Gray's Inn Road building ( 1771? ) — see Rachel Leighton , Rise and Progress: The Story of the Welsh Girls’ School , 1950 . He was also prominently connected with the (old) Cardiganshire Agricultural Society ; see Reports for 1790 , 1792 , etc.

Nanteos, is a large Georgian building,and lies in the Paith Valley, near Aberystwyth. The site has a long history of occupation: an earlier dwelling known as Neuadd Lawdden existed there for many centuries before Nanteos was built. The present mansion being built in 1739 by Colonel John Jones, who raised the Cardiganshire Militia in support of King Charles I during the Civil War, was the earliest known inhabitant of the Nanteos estate. He had three daughters, Mary, Anne and Elinor. Anne succeeded on her father’s death in 1666. Anne Jones of Nanteos married Cornelius Le Brun, who was born in Cologne, Germany. He came over to Wales to work on the lead and silver mines as a mining engineer. After making his fortune later became High Sheriff of Cardiganshire in 1674. When he died in 1705, Nanteos was left to his only issue, Averina (1675-1738). She married William Powell (1658-1738) of Llechwedd Dyrus, which was situated across the Paith