a
Norman
family surnamed ‘
de Wintona
,’ settled apparently at
Llandough
(it may be
Llandow
),
Glam.
, changed its name in the
14th cent.
to ‘
Wilcoline
’ or ‘
Wilkyn
,’ and in the 17th to ‘
Wilkins
.’
THOMAS
WILKYN
(d.
1623
), his son
ROGER
WILKINS
(d.
1648
), and his grandson
THOMAS
WILKINS
(
1625/6
-
1699
)
,
were successively
rectors
of
S. Mary church
(Llan-fair), Glam.
The last-named
Thomas
Wilkins
went to
Jesus College
,
Oxford
, in
1641
, and took a law degree in
1661
; in addition to
S. Mary church
he also held the rectories of
Gelli-gaer
(
1666
) and
Llan-maes
(
1668
), and a
prebend
at
Llandaff
. He d.
20 Aug. 1699
, aged 74. He had m.
Jane
, daughter of
Thomas
Carne
of
Nash
and grand-daughter of
Sir
Edward
Stradling
of
S. Donat's
; they had five children.
Wilkins
is a very
important figure in the history of Welsh literature
, not indeed in virtue of any works of his own but as an
antiquary
(a disciple of
Rice
Merrick
, q.v.
) and a
collector of manuscripts
; some of the most important medieval
Welsh
manuscripts were in his possession, notably the ‘
Red Book of Hergest
’ and the ‘
Book of the Anchorite
.’ His eldest son,
THOMAS
WILKINS
(
1677
-
1736?
),
who gave the two manuscripts mentioned to
Jesus College
,
Oxford
, was a
lawyer
; he became
deputy-protonotary
for the
Brecknock circuit
(not
protonotary
, as is generally said), and was the originator of a family which (with its connections by marriage) played a considerable part in the legal, financial, and industrial history of
Brecknock
and
north Glamorgan
. It would seem that he d. in
1736
, but this is very uncertain — a ‘
Wilkins
’ signs as deputy from
1726 to 1736
, and another (?) ‘
Wilkins
’ from
1744 to 1758
; the latter seems more likely to have been
John
Wilkins
. He was thrice married; the children of his first marriage (whose associations were with
Bristol
) were the first to resume the surname ‘
de Winton
.’ By his second marriage,
Thomas
Wilkins
was the father of
JOHN
WILKINS
(
1713
-
1784
)
,
b.
15 Nov. 1713
,
deputy-protonotary
from
1759 (at least) till 1784
; he m.
SYBIL
JEFFREYS
, niece and heiress of
WALTER
JEFFREYS
(d.
1746
), a
banker
, of a
Llywel
family. Here lay the origins of ‘
Wilkins and Co.
’, or the ‘
Brecon Old Bank
’ (now merged in
Lloyds Bank
), whose notes circulated throughout the region (including
north Glamorgan
) and which was deeply concerned in the early phases of its industrial development.
Three of
John
Wilkins
's children should be noticed:
(1)
WALTER
WILKINS
(
1741
-
1828
)
made a fortune in
India
, bought
Maes-llwch,
Rads.
, and was
Member of Parliament
for
Radnorshire
,
1796-1828
; his descendants assumed (
1839
) the name ‘
de Winton
’;
(2)
WILLLIAM
WILKINS
,
said to have been his fifth son (but this is in conflict with other statements), was
deputy-protonotary
,
1784-99
, and
protonotary
from 1799
till his death in
1812
;
(3)
ANNE
WILKINS
, who m.
John
Maybery
(d.
1784
), son of
Thomas
Maybery
, a
Worcestershire
industrialist
, who in
1720
had
set up iron-works
at
Brecon
— in
1758
‘
Maybery and Wilkins
’ erected a furnace at
Hirwaun
. Their son,
[
Thomas
]
Maybery
(
1759
-
1829
)
,
was
from 1804 (at least) till 1812
deputy-protonotary
to his uncle
William
Wilkins
, and succeeded him as
protonotary
in
1812
. His son,
WALTER
MAYBERY
(
1800
-
1862
), became
protonotary
in
1830
and was the last
protonotary
of
Brecknock
, as the
Great Sessions
were abolished in Oct. of that year.
Rev. Richard Thomas, B.A. (1872-1950), Caernarfon
