Plas Bodewryd

Historic Manor House

Plas Bodewryd was home to the important Wynn(e) family of Anglesey. By marriage and by deed they became important in several aspects of Anglesey life. The earliest known of the Wynn(e) family was Margaret Wynn(e) who died in 1723. (I believe that in the 12th century, Gweirydd ap Rhys Goch of Henllys on Anglesey is the chief of the third of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales. He may be the earliest known ancestor of the Wynn(e) Family of Bodewryd, Anglesey.)

Margaret`s heir – John Wynn – had died without issue in 1709, and the estate was inherited by her other son – Edward. In 1707 Edward Wynn(e) was appointed as Chancellor of the Hereford diocese, but he never neglected his duties on his Anglesey estate. He is said to have travelled back and fore to Hereford at regular intervals on horseback and thus doing for 45 years.

Edward Wynn(e) (1681-1755) was a polymath, a pioneering agriculturalist, antiquarian, ecclesiastical scholar and legal authority, doctor of civil law, and a fellow of Jesus College Oxford.

Edward was also – evidently – a philanthropist, giving freely to help others, in particular, the children of Anglesey. Thomas Ellis – the scholar – of Holyhead, turned to Edward several times for funding for various school projects and was always kindly received. In 1743, when Eglwys y Bedd chapel in Holyhead was converted into a school, it was Edward who provided the funding. Thomas Ellis had befriended the squire of Holyhead and his wife – the Owen’s of Penrhos estate, later to become the Stanley’s. The connection was that Ann Wynn(e) – Edward’s sister – had married Robert Owen, the heir to the Penrhos estate. That Thomas Ellis had her ear meant he also had the ear of Edward Wynn(e).

By 1851 the estate was owned by the Jones family. Without further research, I do not know if they are descendants through the female line of the previous Wynn(e) family. The master of the house was Thomas Jones (b1803), who lives there with his wife Elizabeth (b1816). They have 4 daughters and one son. The children are aged between 1 and 12 years. They have an Irish governess and 2 house servants, a farm servant, an errand boy, and six agricultural labourers, al who lived in.

Thirty years later we find the same Jones family still in occupation, but Thomas has died; thus leaving the widow Elizabeth to run the estate. Three of their daughters – now in their thirties – are still living at home. There is a 19-year-old governess from Liverpool, presumably to tutor the two children living there, described as visitors. The census also records seven servants.

The estate is now (2005) owned by the Tudor family, who are aware of the historical importance of the house, and this webmaster was given an excellent welcome.