I have been researching my HUMPHREYS family in Llanbrynmair, where they seem to have been
since the 1700' s and have been corresponding with a wonderful local lady who sent me
information which I thought I'd pass on in case anyone else has an interest in the
area.
Llanbrynmair is made up of 8 small but quite separate communities. Llan was the original
village which grew up round the parish church. Bont Dolgadfan grew up round the ford on
what used to be the main road to Machynlleth until the present main road was built. There
is a footpath that goes up beside my greatgreat grandfather's cottage, across a couple
of fields, to Llan; and comes out near the church, opposite which is Siop-y-Llan where my
gtgt grandparents lived and worked until not long after 1901. It was still operating as a
shop in 1971.
The flannel industry was vital to the economy of this part of Wales in the early 19th
century. Pandy is a word for 'mill' which denotes that it specialised in
'fulling' - this involves soaking the woven woollen material in water and urine
(!)and squeezing it out to get the fluffy effect. There were lots of Pandys in
Llanbrynmair as well as a thriving cottage industry for the weaving part of the business.
A weaving factory was built by John HOWELL (probably the father in law of my Richard
HUMPHREYS, tailor (b 1855) at Bont about 1800, which supplemented the efforts of the
cottage weavers. Sadly the industry declined with the growth of large scale operators in
Yorkshire and Lancashire (Newtown has apparently been called the 'Leeds' of Wales)
but in 1850 flannel to the value of £8000 was produced by 500 people in the Llanbrynmair
parish.
Gellidywyll (where Richard and Sarah (nee HOWELL) HUMPHREYS were living in 1901) was the
original 'big house' of Bont Dolgadfan, the family owning a lot of the land here
and employing most of the inhabitants, especially after they built Plas Llwyn Owen down in
the valley on the outskirts of the village in the 19th century. There is a brief note
referring to Gellidywyll Mill in 1884, when the owner was Miss LOSCOMBE and the occupier
was David HOWELL. The original Gellidywyll family were called OWEN but the estate passed
sideways through the female line and at one stage was owned by a Miss Catherine Elizabeth
LOSCOMBE.
Thanks for your patience.
Lizzie
Brisbane, Australia
FHS: Mont #965, Gwynedd #2991
Researching: HUMPHREYS/ASHTON/JONES (Llanbrynmair)