HENDER ~ HENDOUR ~ HENDWR ~ HENDOWER
FAMILIES OF WALES

prepared by Don R. Hender



Owain Brogyntyn (Lord of Edernion)

Owain Brogyntyn, Lord of Edernion, was of Royal Welsh descent from the Princes of Powys. Wales was divided into three 'Prince' domains. Unlike England, at times Wales had no King. It had Princes. All three Prince domains where of a related common line decent and the Princes of Powys ruled the central or middle domain.

Owain Brogyntyn had two sons, Gruffydd ab Owain and Bleddyn ab Owain Brogyntyn. Gruffyd was the eldest son from whom the later family of Hender descends. The male line comes from Gruffyd who married twice. Once to Margaret verch Madoc ap Ririd Flaydd and once to Janet de Say the daughter of Sir William Say Knt.


YR HENDWR

Gruffydd ab Owain and Janet Say

Gruffydd ab Owain, one of the sons of Owain Brogyntyn Lord of Edernion, held a moiety of his father's lordship. His wife was Janet the daughter of Sir William Say, Knt. Janet's sister Beatrice and co-heir married Geoffrey Fitz-Piers, Chief Justice of England Sheriff of Shropshire in 1207. Gruffydd and Janet Say had a son named David ab Gruffyd ab Owain who married Eva verch Llewelyn ab Gruffyd (Lord of Eyton).


David ab Gruffyd ab Owain and Eva verch Llewelyn ab Gruffyd

David of Crogen or David ab Gruffyd ab Owain and Eva verch Llewelyn ab Gruffyd had two sons. They where Madog de Hendour, the ancestor of the Cornwall Hendowers or Henders, and Llewelyn ab David of Crogen.


Madog de Hendour and . . .

Madog de Hendour, Lord of Hendwr, was of the 'hen' (old) - 'dour' (tower). He either had one or two wives. The one being reported as Eva verch Llewelyn ab Gruffyd ab Gwenwynwyn and the other being Gwenlian Lloyd the daughter of Sir Gruffydd Lloyd. The children of Madog de Hendour are:


YR HENDWR

The Ancient Barony of Hendour or Hendwr was located in the county of Merioneth. A long mound, moated, but which does not appear to be artificial, marks the site of the residence of the old barons of Hendour - the old tower. It is in a field immediately to the south of the road leading from Corwen to Bala. The more modern mansion of Hendwr stood to the north, near the river Dee, where there is now a large farmhouse. The arms borne by this family, as shown above, were argent (white), upon a chevron gules (red), three fleurs-de-lys or (gold).

Hendwr, although not now in Powys-land, was so in ages past. And Owen Brogyntyn was essentially connected with Powys-land. Therefore, it may be thought that anything relating to him or his descendants may properly be published in the Montgomeryshire Collections. W. W. E. W. - August 15th, 1874.

The different manors in the fertile comote or hundred of Edeirnion, in the county of Merioneth, were styled baronies. One of the most important was that of Hendour. The earlier portion of its descent as given by some Welsh genealogists can be conflicting as it adds an Iorwerth ab Madog to be the father of David of Crogen and then leaves out one of the later David Henders of Cornwall. Another account, makes the same Iorwerth, the father of Madoc o'r Hendwr, the son of Madoc the brother of Owen Brogyntyn. This would legitimize the family as full descendants of the Princes of Powys as Owen Brogyntyn is stated to be a nature son of Prince Meredydd of Powys. And Owen Brogyntyn's brother Madoc/Madog would be legitimate; though the Welsh made little of such distinction compared to the English. However, the more generally published pedigree given above is almost entirely confirmed by contemporary records, and is therefore relied upon as more correct.


SOURCES

- Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire and Its Borders. - 1874.

- Pedigree by W. W. E. Wynne of Peniarth, Esq.

- The History of The Princes, The Lords Marcher, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen, and Meirionydd. - 1881.

- Archaeologia Cambrensis, the Journal of the Combrian Archaeological Association. - 1877. - Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches. - 1846.


Some variously supplied pedigrees seem bent on confusing the issues with inconsistencies, by making an added Madog to be son of Iowerth and not son of the intervining Dyfydd ap Gruffydd ap Owain Brogyntyn as other such sources do render. From one such alternative and confirmation of the first above given pedigree, are these images taken of pages 17-21 of vol. 6 of "The History of The Princes, The Lords Marcher, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog".


Also, further from the text of Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating To Montgomeryshire And Its Borders, Issued by the Powys-land Club for the use of its Members, Volume VII, pages 389-392, comes this additional confirming publication of the 'prefered' pedigree as it notes that that which is not according this this has a number of conflicting matters. Such other are decents through such as Ierworth, the third son of Owain Brogyntyn raher than Gruffydd, the eldest son of Owain Brogyntyn as here so presented in its confirming matters of detain. It would seem that other than some such matters as to prefered spellings of a number of the names, this pedigree is esentially the same as also presented above.


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rev. September 2 2020