MANORIAL HERITAGE REGISTRY CONVEYANCE & DESCENT HISTORY ============================================================================ ABERGWILI MANOR Public record: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_manor=abergwili-manor Exported: 15 October 2026, 11:20 GMT+0000 Recorded historical holders: 3 Location: Carmarthenshire SUCCESSION REGISTER | EARLIEST RECORDED TO PRESENT ============================================================================ Relationships below reproduce saved published paths; unrecorded routes are not inferred. 1. Bishop of St Davids, subsequently Bishop of Bath and Wells and Bishop of Chichester | 16th century - before 1944 Transfer: Earlier origin and any precise medieval conveyance are not established in the accessible sources; by the sixteenth century Abergwili is explicitly described as an episcopal manor of the Bishops of St Davids. Holding arrangement: The accessible evidence concerns the episcopal manor and its associated demesne, but does not define the precise extent of the bishop's title at every date. / Episcopal office of the Bishop of St Davids Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=william-barlow-13435 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 2. Representative Body of the Church in Wales | before 1944 - 1974 Transfer: The Bishop's Palace was transferred from the episcopal establishment to the Representative Body of the Church in Wales; the precise date and instrument of transfer have not been identified. Holding arrangement: Other / The source specifically concerns the Bishop's Palace and associated property, not necessarily the whole historic manor. Large portions of the demesne had already been sold between 1886 and 1913. / Church in Wales property-holding body Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=representative-body-of-the-church-in-wales-13436 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded 3. Carmarthenshire County Council | 1974 - 1974 or later Transfer: Acquisition of the old Bishop's Palace and grounds from the church for museum use. The precise conveyance date, deed, and extent of land acquired have not been identified. Holding arrangement: Other / Old Bishop's Palace and grounds only; not established as the whole historic Abergwili Manor. / Local-authority ownership of former palace and grounds Profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=carmarthenshire-county-council-13437 Relationship to present holder: Not recorded DETAILED CONVEYANCE HISTORIES AND LINKED PEDIGREES ============================================================================ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 1 | 16th century - before 1944 Bishop of St Davids, subsequently Bishop of Bath and Wells and Bishop of Chichester Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=william-barlow-13435 Transfer: Earlier origin and any precise medieval conveyance are not established in the accessible sources; by the sixteenth century Abergwili is explicitly described as an episcopal manor of the Bishops of St Davids. Previous holder: Unknown earlier ecclesiastical holder or predecessor estate Holding arrangement: sole Share / interest: The accessible evidence concerns the episcopal manor and its associated demesne, but does not define the precise extent of the bishop's title at every date. Shared holding: Episcopal office of the Bishop of St Davids Narrative / explanation: Abergwili entered the documented historical record in the late thirteenth century when Thomas Bek, Bishop of St Davids, founded a college and town there. That evidence demonstrates an early and direct connection with the Bishop of St Davids but does not, by itself, prove a complete manor conveyance or establish the exact legal extent of the manor at that date. A Cadw-related historic-environment record based on the 1944 Inland Revenue valuation describes the post-medieval property as the Episcopal Manor of Abergwili and states that it included the demesne lands and episcopal residence of the Lords Bishops of St Davids from the sixteenth century. Bishop William Barlow moved the principal episcopal residence to Abergwili after the college was removed to Brecon in 1541. The entry therefore records the securely evidenced episcopal holding from the sixteenth century without inventing an undocumented medieval transfer. Source citation: Inland Revenue Valuation Office, Survey and Report on the Episcopal Manor of Abergwili in Ystrad Towy in the County of Carmarthen, 1944, as reproduced in the Dyfed Historic Environment Record; corroborated by K. Murphy, The Archaeology of the Medieval Towns of Southwest Wales: Abergwili, Dyfed Archaeological Trust report 2021-11, February 2021, pp. 1-2. Source URL: https://coflein.gov.uk/media/393/176/aent66.pdf Other parties: The Bishop of St Davids as holder of the ecclesiastical office Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=william-barlow-13435 Person dates: Died 1568; Bishop of St Davids, 1536-1548 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 2 | before 1944 - 1974 Representative Body of the Church in Wales Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=representative-body-of-the-church-in-wales-13436 Transfer: The Bishop's Palace was transferred from the episcopal establishment to the Representative Body of the Church in Wales; the precise date and instrument of transfer have not been identified. Previous holder: Bishop of St Davids or the disestablished ecclesiastical establishment associated with the Bishop of St Davids Holding arrangement: other Share / interest: The source specifically concerns the Bishop's Palace and associated property, not necessarily the whole historic manor. Large portions of the demesne had already been sold between 1886 and 1913. Shared holding: Church in Wales property-holding body Narrative / explanation: The 1944 Inland Revenue valuation material states that large parts of the Abergwili demesne had been sold between 1886 and 1913 and that the Bishop's Palace had been transferred to the Representative Body of the Church in Wales. Because the source does not give the transfer date, deed, or exact acreage, this is recorded as a transfer of the palace and associated surviving property rather than as a conveyance of the whole historic manor. Source citation: Inland Revenue Valuation Office, Survey and Report on the Episcopal Manor of Abergwili in Ystrad Towy in the County of Carmarthen, 1944, reproduced in the Dyfed Historic Environment Record; modern confirmation that parts of Parc yr Esgob are leased from the Representative Body of the Church in Wales is supplied by PLANED. Source URL: https://coflein.gov.uk/media/393/176/aent66.pdf Other parties: Representative Body of the Church in Wales Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=representative-body-of-the-church-in-wales-13436 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLDER 3 | 1974 - 1974 or later Carmarthenshire County Council Person: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=carmarthenshire-county-council-13437 Transfer: Acquisition of the old Bishop's Palace and grounds from the church for museum use. The precise conveyance date, deed, and extent of land acquired have not been identified. Previous holder: Representative Body of the Church in Wales Holding arrangement: other Share / interest: Old Bishop's Palace and grounds only; not established as the whole historic Abergwili Manor. Shared holding: Local-authority ownership of former palace and grounds Narrative / explanation: The old Bishop's Palace and its grounds were acquired by Carmarthenshire County Council in 1974 and subsequently used for Carmarthenshire County Museum. This transaction should not be treated as a conveyance of the entire historic Abergwili Manor because the accessible evidence records earlier sales of substantial demesne areas and describes the 1974 acquisition specifically as the old palace and grounds. Source citation: Parc yr Esgob, The Old Bishop's Palace: history of the transfer of the old palace and grounds to the local authority in 1974; corroborated by Carmarthenshire County Council's description of the museum at the Old Bishop's Palace, Abergwili. Source URL: https://parcyresgob.org.uk/history/the-old-bishops-palace/ Other parties: Carmarthenshire County Council Previous holder profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=representative-body-of-the-church-in-wales-13436 Historical person profile: https://manorialregistry.com/?mhr_person=carmarthenshire-county-council-13437 Relationship paths: No published path recorded. END OF EXPORTED APPROVED CONVEYANCE HISTORY