Pwllycrochon

 Exploring the History of Pwllycrochon: From the Conwy family to the Williams family (1691 - 1808)

Conway / Conwy - place name and family surname

Pwllycrochan / Pwll crochan/ Pwllycrochon/ Pwll y Crochon/ Pwll y Crochan

all used interchangeably throughout the years.

Pwllycrochon, an estate nestled between the parishes of Llandrillo and Colwyn (now Old Colwyn), has a rich history dating back to at least the 1600s. Originally associated with the Conwy/Williams family, this estate witnessed significant transitions over the centuries.

                                                Plaque in Llandrillo Church

According to local historian Norman Tucker (1894-1972), "Rhiw," meaning slope, might have been the site of a farm called "fferme y Rhiw" held by David Lloyd Conwy in 1572. This farm likely evolved into what became Plas Pwllycrochon. The earliest recorded mention of Pwllycrochon is on 23 June 1691 in the Tynygongl papers held at Bangor archives of a lease between

1. Robert Williams of Bugden, co. Huntingdon, gent and

2. Robert Conway of Pwll Crochan, co. Denbigh.

"Lease of the capital messuage of Pwll Crochan and other lands in the townships of Rhiw and Llwytcoed, parish of Llandrillo in Rhos; 99 years; rent 1 penny."

There is a 1693 tombstone for Robert Conway 'of Pwllycrochon', Gentleman, and another for John Conwy in 1702 (Tucker, 1953), although the plaque in St Trillo's Church (Llandrillo Church) states Sir Hugh Conwy "rebuilt the south aisle of this church in 1519" who lived at Llys Euryn and Pwllycrochan. It is noted that Llys Euryn was abandoned during the reign of Charles II (1630-1685). 

[Gentleman: A man of gentle birth, or having the same heraldic status of those of gentle birth; properly, one who is entitled to bear arms, though not ranking among the nobility but also applied to a person of distinction without precise definition of rank. Esquire i) a young man of gentle birth, who as an aspirant to knighhood, attended upon a knight (the form squire being commonly used historically); ii) A man belonging to the higher order of English nobility , ranking immediately below a knight; iii) A landed proprietor, (country) 'squire'; iv) As a title accompanying a man's name. originally applied to those who were 'esquire' in sense ii; subsequently extended to other persons to whom an equivalent degree of rank or status is by courtesy attributed.

Source:The Compaction Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1979)]

By the time the Erskine family arrived, the slopes between the Eirias stream to the east and Mochdre to the west were dotted with various farms and cottages, including the Rhiw farms (Ganol/Fawr, Bach, and Bella), Pwllycrochon Issa/Isaf, Poplars, Pen y Derlan, Tan y Ffordd, and parts of Nant y Glyn. The estate also included remnants of the Four Crosses Inn on the Old Highway towards Mochdre, which had likely fallen out of use by the early 19th century. At its heart stood the red-bricked mansion, Plas Pwll-y-crochon (Porter, 1938).

The landscape of Pwllycrochan featured ancient woodlands and arable fields descending to the bay, now known as Colwyn Bay. Historically referred to as the Bay of Llandrillo or Rhos Bay, the land prior to 1693 was known as Rhew (sic.). The Pwllycrochan estate was part of the parish of Llandrillo in Denbighshire, a parish with its own church, fishing hamlet, small quarry, and links to Ednyfed Fychan. At the other end of this coastal region was Colwyn, now Old Colwyn, with its distinct history and landowning families.

The Afon Ganol river once posed a significant barrier with its tidal crossings and large pool, separating Mochdre Valley, Creuddyn, and Llandrillo yn Rhos from Little Orme before the 1820s (Richards, 2013; Tucker, 1953). Seasonal high tides often turned the lower parts of Rhos into boggy marshlands, complicating travel from Conwy to Pwllycrochan. While turnpike roads existed, they were little more than dirt tracks bordered by oak trees, and the Old Highway was not a turnpike but a rudimentary route from the Conwy ferry through "bochdre" (Tucker, 1953).

Robert Williams esq. of Pwllycrochon (1716-1760) married Jane Holland of Bodlondeb (1715-1780) and they had 4 sons born at Pwllycrochon: Holland Williams esq. (b. 1741), Thomas (b. 1743), Robert (b. 1746) and Hugh (b. 1750). Robert Williams died in the Isle of Man in 1760 and was interred at Llandrillo. His wife Jane died in 1780. There is some evidence of a family estrangement between Thomas Williams and his family (Lowe, 1927). 

Holland Williams (1741-1799) was the squire of Pwllycrochon from 1760 and although we don't currently have a record of a wife, evidence suggests he sired at least one 'base' son - 'Robert' we know of from parish records, who was baptised at Llandrillo in 1787...

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Robert Williams 1787 baptism (Llandrillo Parish books)

and possibly his eldest son - a 'Holland Williams' who was recorded as dying aged 26 (Lowe, 1927). 

Furthermore, if this son was legitimate and died in 1796, the Will amongst the Tynygongl papers also attests to further illegitimate children within the Pwllycrochon family, having settled upon his 'natural' children money and yet the estates reverting to a legitimate heir.

In 1795, the direct Holland family line of the Conwy family ended with the death of Owen Holland. This estate reverted to his sister Jane Holland's son - Holland Williams of Pwllycrochon, however from the surmises above that he had no legitimate heirs this Conwy estate was devolved to his surviving brother Rev. Hugh Williams. There is noted amongst the Tynygongl papers of an agreement (5 November 1795) of the surrender of Estates in granting an annuity of £350 for the surviving wife and spinster sister - Margaret Holland nee Roberts and Silence Holland with Rev Hugh Williams, who from this date took up the town house Plas Isa, formerly of Owen Holland.

                  https://www.hollandfamilyhistory.co.uk/images/conwayhollandpedigree.jpg

Rev. Hugh Williams moved into Plas Isa, the Holland family's town house, now a wealthy man. In 1799, the direct Williams line of Pwllycrochan ended when Holland Williams, the sole surviving male heir of both the Williams of Pwllycrochan and the Hollands of Conwy died aged 58

Rev. Hugh Williams likely knew Plas Pwllycrochon well, having grown up there with his brothers. Being both the vicar of St Mary's church and the magistrate of Conway from circa 1786, may have influenced Rev. Williams' decision to rent the Pwllycrochon mansion to his friend Rev. James Price and his young family in 1800. Records of the Holland's Bodlondeb mansion are scarce, but it seems that Margaret Holland Roberts, Owen Holland’s sister, remained at Bodlondeb until her death in 1810. The Georgian house built in 1742 can be seen in paintings of the time, evidencing its block-like façade and reports from Pennant detail the formal gardens laid out by Owen Holland. 

Tragically, Rev. Hugh Williams died on March 21, 1809, at the age of 58, leaving both estates to his only child, Jane Silence Williams. At her inheritance in 1809, Jane was just seven years old, born around 1802 to Hugh Williams and his wife Mary (née Playford of Norfolk).