VAUGHAN
family, of
Tretower Court
, parish of
Llanfihangel Cwm-du
,
Brecknock
.
Sir
ROGER
VAUGHAN
, third son of
ROGER
VAUGHAN
of
Bredwardine
— see
Vaughan
family of
Bredwardine
— by
Gwladys
, daughter of
Dafydd
Gam
, was the first of the
Vaughans
to reside at
Tretower
. It is said that the residence was a gift to him from his half-brother
William
Herbert
,
earl of Pembroke
(q.v.)
, to whom the castle and manor of
Tretower
had descended by the marriage of his father,
Sir
William ap Thomas
, to the widow of
Sir
James
Berkeley
, heiress of
Tretower
.
Roger
Vaughan
enlarged and remodelled the house by the addition of a western range of buildings with a hall. Like all his kindred,
Roger
Vaughan
is found on the
Yorkist
side in the divisions of his time, but he also was granted a pardon by the
Coventry Parliament
of
1457
. The
Privy Council
ordered him, with
Sir
William
Herbert
and
Walter
Devereux
, to
prevent assemblies and the victualling of castles in Wales
,
17 Aug. 1460
. He was with
Edward
's forces at
Mortimer's
Cross
,
1461
, and it is said that it was he who led
Owain Tudor
to his execution at
Hereford
after the battle. He was granted the offices of
porter of the castle
of
Bronllys
,
forester
of
Cantrecelly
,
steward
and
receiver
of the lordships of
Cantrecelly
,
Penkelly
,
Alexanders-ton
, and
Llangoed
,
15 Nov. 1461
, and lands in
south-west England
,
11 July 1462
. He
took a prominent part in quelling a rising
in
Carmarthenshire
in
1465
, and received grants of the insurgents’ manors and estates in
Gower
and
Kidwelly
. By
23 March 1465
he was a
knight
, though the investiture is not recorded by
Shaw
. He was
on commissions of ‘oyer et terminer’
in
Wales
and the
Marches
in
1467
and
1468
. In the
earl of Warwick
's charter to
Neath abbey
,
24 June 1468
,
Vaughan
as the earl's
chancellor
at
Cardiff
is the first witness, and
Thomas ap Roger
, possibly his son, is described as
coroner
of
Cardiff
. The common belief that he fell with his brothers at the
battle of Banbury
is incorrect.
Lewis Glyn Cothi
called upon him to avenge that battle, and on
16 Feb. 1470
he was appointed
constable
of
Cardigan castle
. After the
battle of Tewkesbury
,
1471
, it is said that
Edward
IV
ordered him to pursue and capture
Jasper
Tudor
,
earl of Pembroke
, but it was
Vaughan
himself who fell into the earl's hands, to be summarily
beheaded
at
Chepstow
. His elegies were sung by
Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal
or
Huw Cae Llwyd
, and
Llywelyn Goch y Dant
(qq.v.), who accused
Jasper
Tudor
of treachery and guile.
Guto'r Glyn
also called on his family to avenge his death. He is described in the pedigree books as
lord
of
Cantrecelly
and
Penkelly
, owner of
Merthyr Tydfil
and
Llandimore
, and various lands in
Glamorgan
, and it is said that he
built the ‘royal palace’
at
Cardiff
. He was twice married. The first wife was
Denise
, daughter of
Thomas ap Philip Vaughan
of
Talgarth
, and she was the mother of the heir
(
Sir
)
THOMAS
VAUGHAN
,
Roger
Vaughan
— see
Vaughan
family of
Porthaml
— and four daughters who married into prominent families, the wives of
Robert
Raglan
,
Henry
Donne
,
Morgan
Gamage
, and
Morgan ap Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas
. His second wife was
Margaret
,
lady Powis
, daughter of
James
,
lord Audley
, by his second wife,
Eleanor
, illegitimate daughter of
Edmund
,
earl of Kent
. (Her first husband,
Sir
Richard
Grey
,
lord Powis
, d.
17 Dec. 1466
. The order of the marriages is incorrect in
G. E.
Cokayne
under ‘
Grey of Powis
.’ She was
lady Powis
before her marriage to
Sir
Roger
Vaughan
. She was dead
before 2 Feb. 1480/1
.) She had one daughter by
Sir
Roger
, the wife of
Humphrey
Kynaston
. A large number of illegitimate children are ascribed to
Sir
Roger
Vaughan
.
Vaughan
families are derived from some of the others: the
Vaughans
of
Gelli-gaer
from
Lewis
, the
Vaughans
of
Cathedine
from
Roger
, the
Vaughans
of
Merthyr Tydfil
from
William
, and the
Vaughans
of
Coedkernew
from
John
. One of the illegitimate children,
Thomas
, was long a prisoner in
France
;
‘
Sir
’
Philip
Emlyn
wrote a
cywydd
on his imprisonment, and
Edward
IV
granted £40 from the customs of the port of
Bristol
towards his ransom,
28 Sept. 1477
. One of the earliest records of the heir,
(
Sir
)
THOMAS
VAUGHAN
, is that he was a
trustee for the king's debt
to his uncle,
William
Herbert
,
earl of Pembroke
,
6 Dec. 1468
. He was
on commissions of ‘oyer et terminer,’
etc., in
South Wales
in
1471/2
. He was granted appointments in the lordship of
Gower
during the minority of
Anne
, heiress of
John
,
duke of Norfolk
,
7 Oct. 1480
. He gave
Richard
III
strong support against the rebellion of the
duke of Buckingham
in
Oct. 1483
. Henceforward, he is styled
knight
in the records, and he was granted the
stewardship
of the lordship of
Brecknock
,
4 March 1484
. He seems to have acted cautiously during the months preceding the
battle of Bosworth
, and he obtained a general pardon from
Henry
VII
,
2 April 1486
. He built the gateway in the eastern wall of
Tretower Court
, and he maintained his family's traditional
patronage of Welsh bards
. He was unstintingly eulogised by
Lewis Glyn Cothi
,
Dafydd Epynt
,
Ieuan ap Huw Cae Llwyd
,
Huw Dafi
, and others. His first wife was
Cissil
, daughter of
Morgan ap Jenkin ‘ap Philip’
of
Gwent
; the second was
Jane
,
lady Ferrers
.
Lewis Glyn Cothi
addressed an
awdl
to his three sons,
Roger
,
Watkin
, and
Henry
, but the family soon ceased to play a prominent part in
Welsh
life. The inheritance passed to
HENRY
VAUGHAN
, the third son.
CHRISTOPHER
VAUGHAN
, son of
Henry
Vaughan
, was
sheriff
of
Brecknock
in
1548-9
, and his son,
WILLIAM
VAUGHAN
, held the same office in
1591-2
. He d.
1613
, leaving
WILLIAM
VAUGHAN
, who d.
1617
. In addition to the heir,
CHARLES
VAUGHAN
(d.
1636
) of
Tretower
,
William
Vaughan
's children included
THOMAS
VAUGHAN
(d.
1658
), who m. the heiress of
Newton
in
Llansantffraed
;
Henry
Vaughan
the
Silurist
(q.v.)
and
Thomas
Vaughan
(q.v.)
were their sons.
CHARLES
VAUGHAN
was
sheriff
of
Brecknock
in
1622-3
and
1636
.
He d.
1654
. His son,
EDWARD
VAUGHAN
, dying without issue, the estate passed to the daughter,
MARGARET
, wife of
Thomas
Morgan
,
Maes-gwartha
. Her heir,
VAUGHAN
MORGAN
, d.
1684
, and his son,
CHARLES
, assumed the surname of
VAUGHAN
. He d.
1704
, and was succeeded at
Tretower
by his son
CHARLES
VAUGHAN
. The latter m. the heiress of
Hugh
Powell
of
Scethrog
, and took up residence there, where he was followed by his son and grandson (both named
CHARLES
VAUGHAN
).
Tretower Court
was sold
about 1783
, and the long association of the
Vaughan
family with that place was broken.
Bibliography:
-
Calendar of Patent Rolls
. Record
Publication, 1891 ff
;
-
Acts of the Privy Council
. Record
Commission, 1834–7; Record Publications
;
-
Evans
,
Wales and the Wars of the Roses
,
1915
;
-
W. de Gray Birch
,
A history of Neath Abbey derived from
original documents preserved in the British Museum, H.M.
Public Record Office, and at Neath, Margam, etc., with some
account of the castle and town of Neath and notices of the
other monasteries of Glamorganshire
, Neath, 1902
;
-
Pen. MSS. at the National Library of Wales,
Aberystwyth
127, 140;
-
The Complete Peerage
, 1910–40
, vi, 140;
-
G. T. Clark
,
Limbus Patrum Morganiae et
Glamorganiae
, 1886
;
-
Radford
,
Tretower Court, Breconshire
, London,
1938
;
-
Hutchinson
,
Henry Vaughan. A life and
interpretation
, Oxford, 1947
, 7-16.
Author:
Evan David Jones, F.S.A., (1903-87), Aberystwyth
