Part of the difficulty here may be the attribution of responsibility over the parish of
Llanuwchllyn by a vicar/rector of another parish, such as Llangower.
Here’a a recap of notes that I prepared in 2012:
1) Life and Public Services of J.Clancy Jones written by Charles Henry Jones, published in
1911:
Page 11: Rev William Jones, rector Llangower parish,
Lived at Maesafallen farm
Rev, William Jlones - graduate of Jesus College, Matriculated March 1 1680 or 1681 at age
18, received BA degree in 1684
Family had relatives in the Welsh Tract, Pennsylvania.
2) Esgobaeth Llanelwy: A history of the Diocese of St Asaph by DR Thomas (available online
in North America):
https://archive.org/details/esgobaethllanel00thomgoog
<
https://archive.org/details/esgobaethllanel00thomgoog>
Thomas includes a history and lists of vicars/rectors for all parishes in the diocese.
(See pages 683 to 725 for the United Deanery of Penllyn and Edeyrnion)
The following dates were noted:
William Jones - Llangower Parish, 1688 to 1689
William Jones - Gwyddelwern Parish 1689-1691
William Jones BA, Llangower Parish 1701-1752
This may not be the same William Jones, but the sequence of appointments seems logical.
3) The parish of Llanwuchllyn may have been under the supervision of the Rector of
Llangower from 1681. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the Thomas account until 1781 when
he notes the formalization of arrangements for the ‘Joint management” of the two parishes
which remained in effect until 1861. The parish records for Llangower and Llanuwchllyn may
clarify who was in charge of the two parishes between 1701 and 1752. (Available at Gwynedd
Archives - Dolgellau).
Further comments:
Having discussed the location of Maesafallen extensively in the past few days, the
question arises as to why the Rev William Jones lived there instead of being on the spot
at either Llangower or Llanuwchllyn. I cannot answer that. Only to note that Maesyfallen
was part of the Aberhirnant Estate (Parish of Llanfor), and that the farm may have been a
large one. The tithe schedule (1840’s) indicates an acreage of about 600 acres of valley
and mountain land. The Diocese may have been granted access to land with prospects to
supplement the offerings from the parishes of Llangower and Llanuwchllyn. This is
conjecture on my part based on what Thomas has to say in “Esgobaeth Llanelwy."
The lack of evidence of an “old house” on the data base of the Royal Commission of
Historical and Ancient Monuments of Wales (Coflein) suggests a “recent" property.
Peter’s evidence about “Maesafallen" from the Hearth Tax is noteworthy in this
respect. The work of organizations involved in dendro dating would be useful regarding the
age of the present farm at Maesafallen:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/welsh-history-month-old-...
A final proviso. The two sources that I have quoted are secondary sources, and that the
written records of the time, such as the Hearth Tax that Peter mentions, wills and parish
records are more likely to either confirm or disprove what I has been noted to date from
these sources.
Given what has been recorded online to date, I suggest that you consolidate our collective
notes by saving them into a separate file, consider the evidence in total (which is
substantial), then draw up a plan to refine your search.
Ken Richards
On Feb 11, 2015, at 5:51 AM, Peter Evans via
<wls-merionethshire(a)rootsweb.com> wrote:
>> The place name "Maesyfallen" may be Maesyfelin which means meadow of
the
mill. Others may offer their explanation.
Before sending off my reply about 4 days ago I checked the Hearth Tax of
1662 for Merioneth.
This has been transcribed in the Journal of the Merioneth Historical and
Record Society. (Volume 2 Part 1, 1953.)
The parish of Llanuwchllyn is quite detailed in comparison to other
parishes.
This meant I was easily able to check for the existance of a farm
Maesyfallen.
Lets look at Llanwyllyw (= Llanuwchllyn). On p21-2 are the townships of
Pennaran and Y Pennant Llin. On p22 is the township of Castell.
I am not sure whether the township of Cynllwd is represented in the
transcript.
I suspect those entries are included in the township Pennaran.
Pennaran lists about 33 different properties.
Y Pennant Llin lists about 30 different properties.
Castell lists about 10 different properties.
That is a total of about 73 different properties.
None of these properties are Maesyfallen or like spelling.
Since then I have checked the parishs of Llangower and Llanfor.
Langower (= Llangower) is on p22, 25-6. Not many properties listed but
Maesyfallen not mentioned. Unfortunately not as detailed as per
Llanuwchllyn.
Llanfor is on p19, 20, possibly 26. Not many properties listed. Maesyfallen
is not mentioned. Unfortunately not as detailed as for Llanuwchllyn.
The result for Llanuwchllyn is not surprising given the findings of others
who place the farm in a different parish altogether.
Regards,
Peter Evans
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