Welsh Roots
Llanover, Monmouthshire
Llanover, Monmouthshire
As mentioned on page 11 of The Pritchards and related families, Pritchard lineage is said to date back to Caradoc Vraich Vras, who ruled in South Wales during the 6th century (and by legend was a Knight of the Round Table). He founded an estate in Llanover, Monmouthshire (see map below), which passed to descendants for over 1,000 years.
"The ancient family of the Prichards were possessed of Llanover Court in the county of Monmouth, for many years past, and held great possessions there, and in the adjacent villages."
In the 16th century, descendant William Ap Richard (son of Richard Ap Jenkyn) took the surname "Prichard", beginning that family line. English-style surnames began to displace Welsh-style patronymics in the 16th century ("ap" means "son of"), and Ap Richard translated into Prichard. The spelling “Pritchard” began to replace “Prichard” in the 19th century, and is now the dominant spelling.
William Prichard and son Matthew were buried in the ancient church of Llanover, a brass memorial is still over their tomb (see attached).
Apparently fortunes of the Pritchard family changed drastically. A son of Matthew Prichard ruined himself paying fines of royalist prisoners of Cromwell, and sold Llanover estate. After the Restoration, another son re-obtained Goytre manor within the estate, but the manor was sold two generations later in 1730, the last of the ancestral estate. “From this point on, this branch of the Prichards and their descendants had no ancestral home, and spread across the British Empire…”
Little if anything is known about when or why our line of Pritchards migrated to Ireland, could these events have been an impetus?
Ceniarth, Montgomeryshire
Pages 12 & 13 of the 1982 book have excerpts from "Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales" (1872), including lineage of the Pritchards of Ceniarth (see link below). Here is the story from Ian Pritchard:
"Had learned of a book on history of Welsh people in library of parliament and with difficulty got to see it. Pat Evans used some of the copy. It identified Ceniarth as historical home of Pritchards just south of Snowden Park. With a free day in London, took early train to Shewsbury, car via Welshpool on to Machynlleth [Bob Johnston's wife home town] and found Ceniarth near by. Pritchards all gone. When they had torn down the castle to decorate pubs in Liverpool, they had a lorry load of lead waterlines out of the house which may have helped. Apparently the family had been quite involved in the Methodist revival which swept Wales. Later when I visited Ireland [Pritchard not a name in Irish antiquities] learned that Clones had been site of the largest Methodist revival in the country. Possible factor in relocation."
Gower, Glamorganshire
Pritchards of Collene - per "Annals and Antiquities...", this family sprang from the Gibbons of Trecastle in Gower. Evan ap Richard, second son of Richard Gibbon, was the first of this branch line. He married and settled at Collene about 1500. The surname Prichard became dominant about 9 generations later, with Evan Prichard, and continued for three or four generations.
Links