Nanney of Cefndeuddwr

The Nanneys of Cefndeuddwr are descended from the Nannau family of Wales,^[10][11] including Hywel Sele (9th Lord of Nannau), who was a cousin of Owain Glyndŵr. Sele was a descendant of Welsh royalty through Prince Cadwgan ap Bleddyn and his son Madog ap Cadwgan, the 1st Lord of Nannau.^[12] The family are also descended from the Irish Norman knight Roger de Montgomery who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and from Osbwrn Wyddel of the House of Corsygedol.^[13]

The family of Plas Cefndeuddwr (hall), near Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd was a cadet branch from the Lords of Nannau. The founding of the Nanney family began with Richard Nanney c. 1552. He was the son of the 12th Lord of Nannau (esquire to Henry VIII) and his second wife, Lowri from Trawsfynydd. Richard married Elizabeth, the daughter of Baron Lewis Owen, Vice-Chamberlain of North Wales, of Cwrt Plas Dolgellau. The Nanney family branch was religiously Puritans. They were related through marriage to the Lloyds of Rhiwgoch who resided at the 'Brynmaenllwyd' estate in Trawsfynydd. The Nanneys were seen to have a high status and occupied the local area since the Elizabethan era.^{[cef 1][18][19][20]}

Ellis of Gwynfryn

The first mention of Gwynfryn is of Gruffydd ap John ap Gronowy living at the hall (Welsh: Plas) in the 16th century, he was the grandson of Robert Puleston. Through inheritance (lineal descendant), the Wynn family took ownership of the lands until Owen Wynn died in 1688.^[6][21] A great-grandchild, Richard Ellis of Bodychen (d. 1717), Llandrygan, Anglesey inherited the estate of Gwynfryn in the 17th century. Centuries later, Gwynfryn was still in the ownership of the Ellis family.^[21][22][14]

Ellis-Nanney family

Aforementioned Hugh John Ellis-Nanney, Baronet, was the only son of Owen Jones Ellis Nanney of Bryn Hir, Criccieth.^[2][23] The Ellis-Nanney family had inherited the lands of Bachwen and Elernion in Llanaelhaearn (owned by the Nanneys) from Owen's uncle, David Ellis Nanney, who had gained ownership in 1812.^[22][24] Owen was also a landowner and had bequeathed the estate on the same terms as his uncle had done, namely on the condition that he assumed the double-barrelled surname of Ellis-Nanney. Hugh's father married Mary Jones (d. 1849). She was the eldest daughter and heiress of Hugh Jones of Hengwrtucha, Llanfachreth in Merionethshire, who was a business partner of the Diphwys Casson quarry. During 1845, Hugh Jones and Owen Ellis-Nanney had together purchased Plas Hen (Talhenbont hall) from the Mostyn baronets for £50,000 (equivalent to £5,300,000 in 2021).^{[25][26][22][27]} Owen died when his son Hugh was 25. Through his inheritance, Hugh acquired estates as the squire of Gwynfryn, Plas Hen, and Cefndeuddwr. He proceeded to demolish and rebuild Plas Gwynfryn near Llanystumdwy in 1866. Hugh acquired a fortune from tenants on his 12,000 acres of land in the counties of Caernarfonshire, Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in North Wales.^{[1][28][29][30]}