Hughes of Gwerclas were a native Welsh royal family descended from Owain Brogyntyn

Owain Brogyntyn

Owain Brogyntyn ap Madog was the youngest and illegitimate son of king Madog ap Maredudd, the last king of a united kingdom of Powys. He was the son of Madog by the daughter of the Maer du or "black mayor" of Rûg in Edeyrnion. He was the brother of Gruffydd Maelor the ancestor of Owain Glyndŵr...

 the illegitimate but acknowledged son of Madog ap Maredudd

Madog ap Maredudd

Madog ap Maredudd was the last Prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, Wales and for a time held the Fitzalan Lordship of Oswestry.Madog was the son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn and grandson of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. He followed his father on the throne of Powys in 1132...

 (one of the last kings of Powys, of the House of Mathrafal) by a daughter of the "Maer du" or "black mayor" of Rûg

Rug

RUG or rug can mean:* carpet, a textile floor covering that is made from various materials.** specifically, one made by rug making* slang for toupee* rug , to keep domesticated animals warm and/or dry...

 in Edernion. His father granted to him and his successors the Cantref of Edeyrnion and the Lordship of Dinmael

Dinmael

Dinmael was a medieval lordship and cwmwd in north Wales which usually formed a part of the patrimony of the kingdom of Powys. The name, of Old Welsh origin, means "the King's Fort" and probably refers to a now forgotten early Welsh fortress.The name survives in the name of a rural community in...

. These areas were both remote frontier lands situated between Powys and the neighbouring ascendant kingdom of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

. From the earlier part of the 12th Century both lordships usually paid homage to Gwynedd.

Owain had three sons. It is from the youngest of these sons, Iorwerth ab Owain ap Madog ap Maredudd, that the barons of Cymmer yn Edeyrnion

Cymmer

Cymmer is a small village in Neath Port Talbot in Wales, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the confluence of the River Afan and the River Corrwg. In 2001, Cymmer had a population of 2,883....

 claim descent. Iorwerth's son, Gruffudd ab Iorwerth, was confirmed in his lands by Edward I in 1284. The first recorded use of the Kymmer yn Edernion baronial title is by Llywelyn Ddu (great-great grandson of Owain Brogyntyn) in 1370 who resided at Gwerclas

Gwerclas

Gwerclas usually refers to a former castle and farmstead close to Cymmer in the parish of Llangar in the ancient cantref of Edeyrnion, Wales. It is now just an uninhabited upland area. The modest castle found at the site during the early Middle Ages is now completely ruinous...

 Castle in the parish of Llangar

Llangar

Llangar is a former civil parish in Denbighshire in Wales, south west of Corwen, its post town, and north east of Bala. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Alwen and Dee, and includes the small hamlets of Bryn, Cymer, and Gwynodl. A large portion of the parish is barren. The village,...

, Merionethshire

Merionethshire

Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...

 (in that part of the county historically included within the cantref of Edeyrnion). The family started using the surname "Hughes of Gwerclas" after Hugh ap William in 1546. Thomas Hughes, "Esquire

Esquire

Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...

 of Gwerclas and Hendreforfydd" is recorded as having served as a captain under the Royalist standard for Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 and died in 1670. His third and only surviving son John Hughes married a descendant of Ednyfed Fychan

Ednyfed Fychan

Ednyfed Fychan , full name Ednyfed Fychan ap Cynwrig, was a Welsh warrior who became seneschal to the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Northern Wales, serving Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn...

. John was succeeded first by his brother Hugh, and then his son Daniel. Daniel married Catherine daughter of John Wynn "of Pen y Clawdd". He died in 1754 and from this time the Hughes of Gwerclas resided at Pen y Clawdd, thought to be in the vicinity of Llanasa

Llanasa

Llanasa is village in the county of Flintshire, northeast Wales. Llanasa is described as one of the ancient parishes of Flintshire. It originally comprised the townships of Gronant, Gwespyr, Kelston, Golden Grove, Picston, Trewaelod, Axtyn and Trelogan....

 in Flintshire

Flintshire

Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...

.

In 1851 the XVIIth Baron of Kymmer yn Edernion is recorded as being William Hughes Esq. (b.1801 at Pen y Clawdd). He spent a long time living at Gayton

Gayton, Northamptonshire

Gayton is a rural village from Northampton town centre in South Northamptonshire. It is situated on a hill close to the larger villages of Bugbrooke, Milton Malsor and Blisworth, with a linked public footpath network. -History:...

 Mansion in Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

. In the 1851 National Census of England and Wales he, along with his wife, children, and domestic servants are recorded as living in Twyford, Hampshire. He contributed to antiquarian debate and was employed as a barrister at the Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

. His son, William O'Farrell Hughes, a direct patrilineal descendant of King Madog ap Maredudd, and de jure heir to the throne of Powys was still alive in 1901 (the title was in abeyance

Abeyance

Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...

 under Welsh Law

Welsh law

Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...

 since 1353 and without any formal claimant since the pardon of Maredudd ab Owain Glyndwr

Maredudd ab Owain Glyndwr

Maredudd ab Owain Glyndŵr was a son of Margaret Hanmer and Owain Glyndŵr. He is thought to have participated in revolt raised by Glyndŵr in Wales between 1400 and c.1416.-Early life:...

in 1421).