Pipton
Encyclopedia
Pipton is a small settlement and former civil parish (or community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
) in Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
on the Afon Llynfi
Afon Llynfi (Wye)
The Afon Llynfi is a short river in the county of Powys, south Wales. A tributary of the River Wye, it runs approximately south to north just to the west of the Black Mountains and partly within the Brecon Beacons National Park. The river rises as a small stream to the west of the village of Bwlch...
near its confluence with the River Wye
River Wye
The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...
. It was formerly in the county of Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...
and is now part of the Community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
of Bronllys
Bronllys
Bronllys is a village in Powys, Wales between the nearby towns Brecon and Talgarth. It has recently benefitted from a new bypass as part of the Talgarth Relief Road and Bronllys Bypass scheme....
. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye
Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
some 5 miles (8 km) to the east.
The settlement
Prehistoric settlement of the area is evidenced by Pipton Long Cairn, a neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
burial chamber to the south-west of Pipton Farm.
Pipton Castle
The historic settlement appears to date from the Norman invasion of WalesNorman invasion of Wales
The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright...
, when Pipton formed part of the lands of Walter de Clifford
Walter de Clifford
Walter I de Clifford was an Anglo-Norman marcher lord of Bronllys Castle on the Welsh border, and Clifford Castle , in Herefordshire...
. Most villages in the area were fortified and a mound north of the Afon Llynfi has been interpreted as the motte
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
of Pipton Castle. In 1265 the Treaty of Pipton
Treaty of Pipton
The Treaty of Pipton was signed on 22 June 1265 during the Second Barons' War and concluded an alliance between Simon de Montfort and the Welsh prince Llywelyn the Last....
was signed here between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
, Prince of Wales, and Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
, on behalf of his royal captive, King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. As part of the treaty, Henry recognized Llywelyn's lands and title, whilst Llywelyn recognized Henry as his liege lord. Llywelyn had mustered an army at Pipton, which he subsequently sent into England to help de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham
Battle of Evesham
The Battle of Evesham was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by Prince Edward – later King Edward I – who led the forces of his father, King Henry III...
. Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn
Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn was a Welsh prince who was lord of the part of Powys known as Powys Wenwynwyn.Gruffydd was the son of Gwenwynwyn ab Owain and Margaret Corbet. He was still a child when his father, who had been driven out of his princedom by Llywelyn the Great, died in exile in 1216...
, Prince of Powys Wenwynwyn
Powys Wenwynwyn
Powys Wenwynwyn or Powys Cyfeiliog was the southern portion of the former princely state of Powys which split following the death of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys in 1160...
, was one of several other Welsh leaders who were present and attested the treaty.
Manor of Pipton
In the sixteenth century, the manor of Pipton belonged to Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount HerefordWalter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford
Walter Devereux, 9th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, created 1st Viscount Hereford was an English Peer.-Family:...
and thereafter to his grandson Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG , an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantation of Ulster, where he ordered the massacre of Rathlin Island...
. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it belonged to the Williams family of Old Gwernyfed in nearby Aberllynfi
Aberllynfi
Aberllynfi is a village in Powys, Wales close to Glasbury. The name refers to the mouth of the Afon Llynfi which enters the River Wye just east of the village...
and in the nineteenth century to Thomas Wood of Gwernyfed Park.
Chapel and hamlet
Pipton is in the ecclesiastical parish of GlasburyGlasbury
Glasbury , also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village in Powys, Wales which lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the former counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The village is just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains. The...
, St Peters and at one time had its own chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
, long demolished, near Pipton Bridge. Sir Walter Vaughan Morgan
Walter Vaughan Morgan
Sir Walter Vaughan Morgan, 1st Baronet , was a British businessman. He was the sixth son of Thomas Morgan of Pipton, near Glasbury, Breconshire and his wife Elizabeth Vaughan. He served as Sheriff of London for 1900 and was elected Lord Mayor of London in 1905...
, sometime Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, was born in Pipton in 1831. His brother, Octavius Vaughan Morgan
Octavius Vaughan Morgan
Octavius Vaughan Morgan was a Welsh-born Liberal Party politician who sat in the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1885 to 1892....
, Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Battersea
Battersea (UK Parliament constituency)
Battersea is a parliamentary constituency located in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.- Boundaries :The...
1888-1892, was born there in 1837.
In 1831, Pipton was described as a hamlet with a population of 125. This presumably refers to the civil parish, however, since the settlement of Pipton itself now consists of little more than a bridge, a farm, and a single house and, based on archaeological evidence, may never have been much larger.
The parish and community
Pipton was a civil parish between 1837 and 1974, when it was retermed a communityCommunity (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
. The parish included the settlement of Pipton and extended northwards towards Llyswen
Llyswen
Llyswen is a small village in Powys, Wales on the west bank of the River Wye. It was formerly within the county of Brecknockshire and now forms part of the Community of Bronllys...
, where it included the house and lands of Y Dderw, and westwards towards Bronllys
Bronllys
Bronllys is a village in Powys, Wales between the nearby towns Brecon and Talgarth. It has recently benefitted from a new bypass as part of the Talgarth Relief Road and Bronllys Bypass scheme....
, where it included the farms of Pentre-Sollars and Porth-y-morddwr. The population of the parish declined from 105 in 1881 to 54 in 1961. In 1985, the community of Pipton was merged with the community of Bronllys
Bronllys
Bronllys is a village in Powys, Wales between the nearby towns Brecon and Talgarth. It has recently benefitted from a new bypass as part of the Talgarth Relief Road and Bronllys Bypass scheme....
.
Y Dderw
Y Dderw, within the former community, is a large 16th century house. It was owned by the Morgan family in the 17th and 18th century. William Morgan of Y Dderw was the King's Attorney for South Wales (1639-49) and MPMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Brecknock (1640-49). Charles Morgan was MP for the borough of Brecon
Brecon (UK Parliament constituency)
Brecon was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election.-Boundaries:...
(1763-69) and for Brecknock (1769-87). John Morgan
John Morgan (of Dderw)
John Morgan was a Welsh politician of the mid-to-late 18th century, the youngest son of Thomas Morgan and his wife, Jane....
was MP for the borough of Brecon (1769-71). It is now a grade II* listed building.