Historical names: Abercynrig; Aber-Cynrig; Aber Cynrig
Location: Brecknockshire
Places / associated places: Brecknockshire
Location & Extent
GPS Location & Recorded Land Areas
Representative GPS point: 51.9343, -3.3551
Identity: confirmed — The registry record F237218 and the supplied description match Abercynrig, the historic manor-house estate at Llanfrynach in historic Brecknockshire. Coflein independently identifies Abercynrig as a late-seventeenth-century manor house in Llanfrynach, a few kilometres east of Brecon, and records its descent from the Aubrey/Awbrey, Jeffreys, Flower/Ashbrook and Lloyd families.
Representative point: 51.9343, -3.3551
Basis: documented_manor_house — Coflein records the manor house at OS grid reference SO0693027060; this converts to approximately 51.9343, -3.3551. The coordinate corresponds to the documented Abercynrig house rather than merely the settlement.
Point confidence: high
Boundary status: representative_point_only
Boundary period:
Boundary confidence: none
Boundary basis: The available authoritative sources establish the manor-house site and describe the associated Abercynrig lands and estate, but do not provide a sufficiently explicit historical manor perimeter. Coflein states that the Jeffreys family had bought all the Abercynrig lands by 1651, while John Aubrey's account indicates extensive personal landholding, but neither source defines a recoverable boundary. The Cadw garden description documents the designed grounds around the house only, not the full manorial territory. The Llanfrynach parish boundary and the modern estate or parkland must therefore not be substituted for the historical manor boundary.
Sources:
- The National Archives Discovery: Aber Cynrig Manor, F237218: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F237218 — Registry record and authority context for the exact manor identity.
- Coflein: Abercynrig, NPRN 122: https://coflein.gov.uk/en/sites/122 — Identifies Abercynrig as a well-preserved late-seventeenth-century manor house in Llanfrynach; supplies OS grid reference SO0693027060 and the ownership/history sequence.
- Coflein/Cadw: Abercynrig Garden, PGW(Po)15(POW): https://coflein.gov.uk/media/17/836/cpg331.pdf — Confirms the house's location at SO 069 271 and describes the surviving designed garden, walled enclosures, ponds and water channels around the manor house; this supports the house as the representative site but not a full manor boundary.
- Heneb: Middle Usk Valley: Brecon and Llangorse: https://heneb.org.uk/hcla/middle-usk-valley-brecon-and-llangorse/ — Places Abercynrig near the confluence of the Afon Cynrig and River Usk and identifies the manor house and associated designed landscape as a historic estate-centre feature.
- Heneb: Pencelli-Talybont Historic Landscape Character Area: https://heneb.org.uk/hcla/middle-usk-valley-brecon-and-llangorse/pencelli-talybont-hlca-1175/ — Describes the manor house, farm buildings and designed landscape near the Usk flood plain, supporting the location of the historic manorial centre.
- Powys County Archives: Jeffreys and Powell Solicitors of Brecon archive list: https://storipowys.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/deposited-misc_family-estate-legal_Breconshire_Jeffreys-and-Powell-Solicitors-of-Brecon-B-D-JPO-1.pdf — Confirms the existence of Abercynrig-related Lloyd estate records, but the listed material located here does not itself supply a usable manor-boundary map.
Warnings / uncertainty:
- A defensible representative point has been established at the documented manor house.
- No reliable source located in this research supplies a complete historical boundary for Abercynrig Manor.
- Do not inject a polygon based on Llanfrynach parish, the modern civil boundary, the Cadw garden boundary, or the modern advertised estate acreage.
- The documented site represents the manor-house and estate centre; the full manorial extent may have included dispersed lands and cannot safely be reconstructed from the available evidence.
About the Manor
Aber Cynrig Manor, more commonly Abercynrig or Aber-Cynrig, is the historic manor-house estate at Llanfrynach on the south side of the Usk valley, a few kilometres east of Brecon in historic Brecknockshire. The present house is a substantially preserved late-seventeenth-century gentry house, probably rebuilt or remodelled for the Jeffreys family in the 1680s. It incorporates elements of an earlier Tudor building, which in turn stood on a site associated with the Aubrey or Awbrey family. Public architectural and historic-landscape sources describe the property chiefly as the Abercynrig house and estate; they do not establish a separate formal barony, lordship title or other distinct title attached to the manor.
Ownership / Holder Account
The earliest secure historical association is with the Aubrey or Awbrey family, whose earliest house at Abercynrig is generally placed in the thirteenth century and whose ownership is documented from the fifteenth century or earlier. A fifteenth-century Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig is specifically associated with the property, and Dr William Awbrey acquired Abercynrig from his cousin Richard in the 1550s. Dr William's son Sir Edward Awbrey succeeded him, followed by Sir William Awbrey of Tredomen. Abercynrig was sold in 1621, or approximately 1620 according to one listing source, to the Brecon mercer Jeffrey or John Jeffreys in settlement of debt. The Jeffreys family consolidated the Abercynrig lands during the seventeenth century; Colonel John Jeffreys, a later member of the family, was associated with Abercynrig and probably built or substantially rebuilt the present house in the 1680s. In the early eighteenth century the estate passed by marriage to Thomas Flower and subsequently descended through the Flower family, including the Barons Castle Durrow and Viscounts Ashbrook. William, 3rd Viscount Ashbrook, sold Abercynrig in 1800 to John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd. The property then descended in the Lloyd family through John Lloyd, Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd and Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Conway Lloyd. Abercynrig was frequently tenanted during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, so residence by a tenant should not be confused with ownership. Public sources state that the estate remained in the Lloyd family after Sir John's death, but do not consistently name or document the later legal holder; no later unnamed holder has therefore been entered as a conveyance.
Conveyance & Descent
First holder to present holder: blood proximity & distance travelled
First recorded holder: Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig
Present holder:
Recorded title journey: 12 holder entries in this manor's saved Conveyance & Descent history.
No recorded holder currently has a usable saved direct-blood or collateral-blood relationship path from which to calculate proximity percentages.
First recorded holder → present holder
A usable saved blood relationship path between the first recorded holder and the present holder has not yet been recorded, so that first-to-present genealogical distance cannot be calculated.
Transfer: Earlier Aubrey or Awbrey holding; later sold Abercynrig to his cousin Dr William Awbrey.
Shared holding: Awbrey family
Co-holders: Dr William Awbrey, Sir Edward Awbrey, Sir William Awbrey of Tredomen
Previous holder: Earlier Aubrey or Awbrey family holder, not securely identified
Cadw's listed-building history states that Abercynrig was owned by the Awbrey family from the fifteenth century or earlier and separately records a Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig. The same source states that Dr William Awbrey bought Abercynrig from his cousin Richard. The exact identity of Richard's predecessor and the precise date of sale are not established in the cited public sources.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753. — source link
Transfer: Purchased Abercynrig from his cousin Richard Awbrey.
Shared holding: Awbrey family
Co-holders: Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig, Sir Edward Awbrey, Sir William Awbrey of Tredomen
Previous holder: Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig
Dr William Awbrey acquired Abercynrig from his cousin Richard in the 1550s. He was a lawyer, judge and Member of Parliament whose wealth enabled him to enlarge his estates. The date range begins in the 1550s because the public source gives only that decade, and ends after his death in circa 1595 because his son Sir Edward is described as his successor.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753; corroborated by Coflein site record NPRN 122. — source link
Transfer: Succeeded his father Dr William Awbrey in the Abercynrig estate.
Shared holding: Awbrey family
Co-holders: Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig, Dr William Awbrey, Sir William Awbrey of Tredomen
Previous holder: Dr William Awbrey, Lawyer, judge and Member of Parliament
The Cadw historical account states that Dr William Awbrey's son Sir Edward Awbrey succeeded him and died in 1619. The exact date of succession is not given.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753. — source link
Transfer: Sold Abercynrig to Jeffrey Jeffreys, or to John Jefferys according to a variant account, in settlement of debt.
Shared holding: Awbrey family
Co-holders: Richard Awbrey of Abercynrig, Dr William Awbrey, Sir Edward Awbrey
Previous holder: Sir Edward Awbrey
After Sir Edward Awbrey's death in 1619, the estate passed to his son Sir William Awbrey. Coflein records a sale of Abercynrig in 1621 to Jeffrey Jeffreys, while the Cadw listing gives the purchaser as John Jefferys and dates the transaction approximately to 1620. The purchaser's given name and the exact year therefore require caution, although the transfer from the Awbrey family to the Jeffreys family is consistently reported.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753; Coflein site record NPRN 122. — source link
Jeffrey Jeffreys, Mercer of Brecon
Transfer: Purchased Abercynrig from Sir William Awbrey; the family subsequently consolidated the Abercynrig lands.
Shared holding: Jeffreys family
Co-holder: Colonel John Jeffreys
Previous holder: Sir William Awbrey of Tredomen
Coflein identifies Jeffrey Jeffreys, a prosperous mercer of Brecon, as the purchaser of Abercynrig in 1621. The Cadw listing instead calls the purchaser John Jefferys and dates the transaction approximately to 1620. By 1651, the Jeffreys family had acquired all the Abercynrig lands. The precise relationship between the purchaser named in the two accounts and the later Colonel John Jeffreys is not resolved here.
Source: Coflein, Abercynrig site record NPRN 122, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. — source link
Transfer: Inherited or otherwise succeeded to the Abercynrig holding within the Jeffreys family; probably rebuilt the house in the 1680s.
Shared holding: Jeffreys family
Co-holder: Jeffrey Jeffreys
Previous holder: Jeffrey Jeffreys and the Jeffreys family
The Cadw account identifies Colonel John Jeffreys as the son of Jeffrey Jeffreys and as a holder of the Priory and Abercynrig. It does not give an exact succession date. Coflein states that the present late-seventeenth-century house was probably built by a member of the Jeffreys family, probably Colonel John Jeffreys, in the 1680s. Colonel John died in 1688.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753; Coflein site record NPRN 122. — source link
Thomas Flower, Irish privy councillor
Transfer: Abercynrig passed through marriage to Thomas Flower, husband of Colonel John Jeffreys's daughter.
Shared holding: Flower family
Previous holder: Jeffreys family
Coflein states that in the early eighteenth century Abercynrig passed through marriage to Thomas Flower. The source does not provide the marriage date, the name of the heiress, or the precise legal form of the transfer; it is therefore recorded as a marriage-related transfer rather than as an inferred inheritance chain.
Source: Coflein, Abercynrig site record NPRN 122, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. — source link
Transfer: Sold Abercynrig to John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd, for £13,460.
Shared holding: Flower and Ashbrook family
Previous holder: Flower family and Ashbrook family succession
The Cadw listing states that the estate passed through the Flower family, successively represented by Barons Castle Durrow and Viscounts Ashbrook, and that the third Viscount Ashbrook sold it in 1800 to Captain John Lloyd. Coflein likewise identifies William, 3rd Viscount Ashbrook as the seller. The exact date on which William acquired the estate is not supplied.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753; Coflein site record NPRN 122. — source link
Captain John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd, East India Company servant
Transfer: Purchased Abercynrig from William, 3rd Viscount Ashbrook in 1800.
Shared holding: Lloyd family
Co-holders: John Lloyd, Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Conway Lloyd
Previous holder: William, 3rd Viscount Ashbrook
John Lloyd purchased Abercynrig in 1800 for £13,460. He was associated with Dinas, Llanwrtyd, made his fortune in the East India Company and died in 1818. The estate became secondary to the Lloyd family's Dinas seat and was subsequently often occupied by tenants.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753; Coflein site record NPRN 122. — source link
Transfer: Succeeded his father John Lloyd in the Lloyd family estate.
Shared holding: Lloyd family
Co-holders: John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd, Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Conway Lloyd
Previous holder: Captain John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd, East India Company servant
The Cadw account identifies John Lloyd, born in 1797 and dying in 1875, as the heir of the purchaser John Lloyd and the next holder in the family succession. The precise legal date and instrument of succession are not stated.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753. — source link
Transfer: Succeeded his father John Lloyd in the Lloyd family estate.
Shared holding: Lloyd family
Co-holders: John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd, John Lloyd, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Conway Lloyd
Previous holder: John Lloyd, High Sheriff of Brecknockshire in 1839
The Cadw account states that Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd succeeded John Lloyd, who died in 1875, and that Colonel Thomas died in 1893.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753. — source link
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Conway Lloyd, knighted 1938, antiquarian
Transfer: Succeeded his father Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd in the Lloyd family estate.
Shared holding: Lloyd family
Co-holders: John Lloyd of Dinas, Llanwrtyd, John Lloyd, Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd
Previous holder: Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd
The Cadw account states that Sir John Conway Lloyd succeeded Colonel Thomas C. Lloyd in 1893 and died in 1954. Abercynrig was tenanted for much of the period, but Sir John occupied the property after Dinas was requisitioned in 1941. Residence and ownership are distinguished here: the holder entry is based on the documented Lloyd succession, not on occupation alone.
Source: Cadw listed-building historical account for Abercynrig, reproduced by British Listed Buildings, source ID 6753; Coflein site record NPRN 122. — source link
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Machine-readable published manor data, including public images, mapped land areas, notes, rights, conveyances, relationships, records, source/document-library entries and public file links.
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