Wynn baronets

There have been two baronetcies created in the 17th and 18th centuries for persons with the same surname, Wynn; these titles were given to families from North Wales, United Kingdom:

The Wynn of Gwydir baronetcy was in the List of baronetcies in the Baronetage of England (1611), descendants of the baronetcy intermarried into different families.
The Wynn of Bodvean baronetcy (Bodfaen/Boduan)^[1] was listed in the Baronetage of Great Britain (1742), and the family has since assumed a different title.

The surname Wynn is derived from Welsh: gwyn (which can mean "white" or "blessed"),^[2]^[3] (soft mutation form wyn). The family name Wynn originates from North Wales. The first mention of the Wynn family of Gwydir was recorded by the children of Maredudd ap Ifan (died 1525), and the name was subsequently adopted as a surname by Maredudd's grandchildren, including Maurice Wynn (died 1580), ancestor of the Wynns of Gwydir; whereas the Wynns of Bodvean (subsequently Baron Newborough) descended from John Wyn ap Hugh (John Wynne, died 1576).

Wynn of Gwydir

Coat of arms of Owain Gwynedd and subsequently the Wynns of Gwydir

The Wynn of Gwydir Baronetcy in the County of Carnarvon was created in the Baronetage of England on 29 June 1611, for John Wynn. The members of this line were heirs to the House of Aberffraw's claim to the Kingdom of Gwynedd and subsequently the Principality of Wales as direct descendants of Prince Owain Gwynedd, the King of Gwynedd.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Dolwyddelan Castle, leased by John "Wynn" ap Maredudd's father

The history of the Wynns of Gwydir begins with the father of Maurice Wynn, John "Wynn" ap Maredudd. John had rebuilt Gwydir around 1555 after inheriting the lease of Gwydir from his father Maredudd ab Ieuan; Maredudd had purchased the estate from Dafydd ap Hywel Coetmor around 1500. Maredudd also purchased the lease for Dolwyddelan Castle, built Penamnen, and owned lands in the commote of Nant Conwy and Llanfrothen. Maurice was the first to adopt the family name 'Wynn' and was a high sheriff and a member of parliament for Caernarvonshire during the 16th century.^[7] The family continued to be prominent in politics, and all the baronets except for Owen (3rd baronet) sat as Members of Parliament, often for Carnarvonshire or other parts of England and Wales. On the death of the fifth baronet, the title became extinct in 1719.^[4]^[8]

A younger branch of the Wynn of Gwydir family emerged in the area of Berthddu and Bodysgallen as descendants of Gruffudd Wynn, the younger brother of Maurice (d. 1580); they married into the Mostyn baronets and Vaughan of Corsygedol and Talhenbont families.^[9]

Wynn of Gwydir inheritances

Gwydir Castle, the former family seat of the Wynn baronets.

Before the baronetcy of Wynn of Gwydir became extinct, there had been marriages and inheritances shared amongst the descendants of the family. Mary Wynn, an only child, and heiress of the fourth Baronet was the wife of Robert Bertie, 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby and 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, of Grimsthorpe Castle, and is now represented by the Baron Carrington who sold Gwydir Castle in 1921. Another descendant of the 4th baronet, Richard Wynn, was Sir Peter Burrell, husband of Priscilla Bertie, 21st Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, of Drummond Castle, Peter was created Baron Gwydyr in 1796. Peter's wife Priscilla was a daughter of Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, and Duchess Mary Panton. The family seat of the Barons of Willoughby de Eresby is Grimsthorpe Castle.^[4]^[8]^[10]

The fifth baronet succeeded his cousin as baronet and inherited the Wynnstay estate, near Ruabon, north Wales. Wynnstay had been the family seat of the Wynn family. The mansion eventually passed to a cousin of the Wynn baronet, Jane Thelwell, and her husband Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 3rd Baronet who inherited the estate. Sir Watkin added the surname Wynn to his name, and his descendants became the Williams-Wynn Baronets.^[4]^[8]^[11]

Wynn Baronets of Gwydir (1611)

Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet (c. 1553–1627)
Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet (c. 1588–1649)
Sir Owen Wynn, 3rd Baronet (c. 1592–1660)
Sir Richard Wynn, 4th Baronet (c. 1625–1674), only child and daughter Mary married Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, then intermarried into the line of Barons Carrington.
Sir John Wynn, 5th Baronet (c. 1628–1719)

Upon extinction of the baronetcy, the family estate was inherited by a cousin; the family is still in the same area today, known as the Williams-Wynn Baronets.^[12]

Wynn of Gwydir family tree

Maurice Wynn (Morys Wynn ap John) died on 18 August 1580.
- Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet.
  - Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet.
  - Sir Owen Wynn, 3rd Baronet.
    - Sir Richard Wynn, 4th Baronet.
  - Henry Wynn
    - Sir John Wynn, 5th Baronet.

Wynn of Bodvean

Coat of arms of the Collwyn ap Tangno.

The Wynn of Bodvean Baronetcy in the County of Carnarvon was created in the Baronetage of Great Britain on 25 October 1742, for Sir Thomas Wynn. The family origins were near Boduan, North Wales.^[13]^[14]

John Wynn (John Wyn ap Hugh of Bodvel, died 1576) being the Bodvel family ancestor, John was high sheriff for Caernarfon. Wynn was the standard bearer for John, Earl of Warwick / Duke of Northumberland; this was for the Earl of Warwick's service at Kett's Rebellion in 1549 and he received Bardsey Island (Gwynedd) for his feats. Wynn descended directly from the Kings of Gwynedd via Collwyn ap Tangno (founder of the 5th tribe of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales). The Wynn of Bodvean family are also descendants of Ynyr Fychan from the Nannau family dynasty in Wales. The Wynn of Bodvel (Bodvean) family ceased to exist, but did marry into an Irish noble family to create the then new title, Baron Newborough.^[15]^[14]^[16]^[17]

Wynn Baronets, of Bodvean (1742)

Sir Thomas Wynn, 1st Baronet (1677–1749)
Sir John Wynn, 2nd Baronet (1701–1773)
Sir Thomas Wynn, 3rd Baronet (1736–1807) (created Baron Newborough in 1776).

Wynn baronets intermarriage

An example of intermarriages between both Wynn families in Wales was John Bodvel (1617 – 1663). He had been a member of parliament for Anglesey and worked as the commission of array for Caernarfonshire in 1643, then also as the Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey, attending the Oxford Parliament (1644). Bodvel was a grandchild of Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet of Gwydir, and also Hugh Gwyn's (died 1611) great-grandchild, Gwyn being one of John Wynne of Bodvean's (died 1576) children.^[15]

References

^ "Bodvean, Boduan, or Bodfaen, Carnarvonshire". ukga.org. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
^ "Meaning and Origin of the Name Wyn". welshboysnames.co.uk. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
^ With a range of related meanings, such as "fair-haired" and "darling", which could have originated as a personal epithet. See the entry for "gwyn" in the University of Wales Dictionary (geiriadur.ac.uk).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chisholm 1911, p. 873.
^ Wynn, Sir John, ed. (1669). History of the Gwydir family.
^ Sir John Wynn (1878). The history of the Gwydir family.
^ "WYNN family, of Gwydir, Caernarfonshire". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
^ ^a ^b ^c George Edward Cokayne (1900). Complete Baronetage. pp. 64–65.
^ Yorke, Philip (1799). The Royal Tribes of Wales. Wrexham. pp. 12–13.
^ "history". gwydircastle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
^ Cokayne, George (1900). Complete baronetage. p. 149.
^ "WYNN family, of Wynnstay Ruabon". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
^ Cokayne, George Edward, ed. (1906). Complete Baronetage volume 5 (1707–1800). Vol. 5. Exeter: William Pollard and Co. pp. 87–88. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
^ ^a ^b "WYNN family, of Rûg, Meironnydd, and Boduan (or Bodfean), Caernarvonshire". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
^ ^a ^b "BODVEL (WYNNE and GWYNNE), of Bodvel, Caernarfonshire, Caerfryn (Anglesey), etc.". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
^ Dwnn, Lewys; Meyrick, Samuel Rush, eds. (1846). Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches. pp. 173–174.
^ "Arms of the XV Noble Tribes of North Wales". theheraldrysociety.com. 28 February 2018.