| Anwyl of Tywyn | |
| Region: | Gwynedd |
| Members: | Evan Vaughan Anwyl of Ty-Mawr |
| Parent Family: | House of Aberffraw |
| Motto: | Eryr eryrod Eryri |
| Motto Lang: | cy |
| Motto Trans: | Eagle of the Eagles of Snowdonia |
Anwyl of Tywyn (Anwyl pronounced in Welsh pronounced as /anʊɨl/) are a Welsh family who claim a patrilinear descent from Owain Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd from 1137 to 1170 and a scion of the royal House of Aberffraw. The family motto is: Eryr eryrod Eryri, which translates as "The Eagle of the Eagles of Snowdonia. The family lives in Gwynedd and speak Welsh.
The name Anwyl means "beloved", "dear", or "loved one" in English.[1] [2]
In the book Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales; Section V (Old and Extinct Families of Merionethshire) (published 1872) by Thomas Nicholas the descendants of Rhodri ab Owain are described;
"Thomas (ap Rhodri ap Owain), Lord of Rhiw Llwyd, married Agnes, daughter of Einion ap Seissyllt, Lord of Mathafarn, widow of Owain Brogyntyn, Lord of Edeirnion. His descendants, Lords of Rhiw Llwyd, were successively Caradog, Gruffydd, Dafydd, and Hywel, who married Efa, daughter of Ifan ap Howel ap Meredydd of Ystumcegid, of the line of Collwynap Tangno, founder of the fifth noble tribe of Wales."
According to Philip Yorke in his book The Royal Tribes of Wales (published 1799);
"The father of James and Robert was Maredudd ab Hywel ab Dafydd ab Gruffudd ab Thomas ab Rodri, Lord of Anglesey, ab Owain Gwynedd, as is evident by the Extent of North Wales, in the twenty-sixth of Edward the Third. During Robert ab Maredudd's time, the inheritance, which descended to him and his brother James, was not parted after the custom of the country, by gavelkind, but James being married -enjoyed both houses, Cefn y fan and Cesail Gyfarch. From Robert, who did not marry till near eighty, descended the houses of Gwydir, Cesail Gyfarch, and Hafod Lwyfog; and Sir John the historian, his descendant, says, he was the elder brother; from James ab Maredudd, who was Constable of Cricieth, the families of Rhiwaedog, Clenenneu, Ystumcegid, Brynkir and Park."
The family who resided at Parc came to be known as the Anwyl of Park family, with Anwyl taking various spellings over the years. The sons of Maredudd ap Hywel, Robert and James, took opposing sides during the last war of Welsh independence led by Owain Glyndŵr between 1400 and c.1412. Robert, the elder brother and the ancestor of the Wynn of Gwydir family sided with Glyndŵr but survived the war receiving a Royal Pardon from Henry IV and later by his son Henry V. James, the younger son, opposed Glyndŵr. According to Philip Yorke he had matched his son Maredudd ab James with the daughter of Einion ab Ithel, who belonged to the House of Lancaster. James ab Maredudd held steadfastly to that house when Owain Glyndŵr rebelled so that in the time of that war he had the charge of Caernarfon town and held it for the Crown of England. In revenge for this Owain Glyndŵr burned his two houses; Cefn y fan or Ystumcegid and Cesail Gyfarch. James ap Maredudd was killed during the continuance of this war at Caernarfon and his body evacuated by sea to be buried at Penmorfa.
According to Philip Yorke;
"To John ab Maredudd his kindred and friends cleaved steadfastly, like courageous men: so then it began to be a proverb or phrase, to call the family of Owain Gwynedd Tylwyth John ab Maredudd, the race of John ab Maredudd."
From Robert ap Morys the family were known as the Anwyl of Parc Family, after their abode near Penrhyndeudraeth at this time.
Thomas Nicholas in 1872 said of him;
"William Lewis Anwyl, Esq., of Parc, Sheriff of Merioneth 1611, 1624, who married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Edward Herbert, Esquire, of Cemmaes, in Cyfeiliog, grandson of Sir Richard Herbert, Kt...By her he left a numerous offspring of 8 sons and 4 daughters."
William Lewis Anwyl had eight sons (who survived to maturity), viz;
The present Anwyl of Tywyn Family descend from the sixth son, Evan (Ieuan), whose descendants became head of the family on the deaths of his brothers and their male issue.
Maurice Anwyl is recorded by Thomas Nicholas in Annals and antiquities of the counties and county families of Wales (1872);
"The ancient family of Anwyl have resided at Llugwy from the time when Maurice Anwyl (circa 1695) m. Joan, the heiress of that place, but previously for many ages at Parc, in the parish of Llanfrothen, in the same county of Merionethshire. There Lewys Dwnn, Deputy Herald, found them, in the 16th century, when pursuing his Heraldic Visitation of Wales; and there they had then been seated for several generations. Their lineage is from Owain Gwynedd, the illustrious Prince of North Wales (12th cent.), son of Prince Gruffudd ap Cynan, of the direct line (through the eldest son, Anarawd) of Rhodri Mawr, King, first of N. Wales, then of all Wales (9th cent.)."
Maurice had issue;
Evan Vaughan Anwyl (born 9 December 1943) is the current head of the Anwyl of Tywyn Family whose male line ancestors are claimed to extend back to William Lewis Anwyl and beyond that to Owain Gwynedd and Rhodri Mawr. He resides in Tywyn, Gwynedd (formerly Merioneth: Welsh: Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionydd), in north Wales, and speaks Welsh.
Evan Vaughan Anwyl was educated at Tywyn Grammar School and then the University of Wales Aberystwyth where he was awarded a BSc in 1967 and DipEd in 1968. He resides at Ty Mawr, Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales.
He was interviewed by Byron Rogers for the book Three Journeys, an excerpt of which was published in Cambria Magazine in June 2011. Concerning his extraordinary heritage, Anwyl said,
"History was never a favourite subject of mine. We've always been humble farmers, that is until I and my two sisters became teachers. We've always been proud of our family history, but amongst ourselves, beyond that, no."[3]
The coat of arms of this family are described (by Thomas Nicholas in 1872) as follows;
Welsh Manuscripts Society
. 1846. 2. 69–71.