Laques Mansion

[king william]

Can anyone supply me with a photo on-line of the mansion of Laques which is about a mile from the village of Llanstephan, it used to belong to the Reed/Rede family and was then sold to the Lloyd family,
Robin

[buckaroo]

Probably not exactly what you need, but something anyway...

www.acadat.com/HLC/CarmarthenBayMap.htm

Buckaroo

[king william]

Buckaroo,
Many thanks for sending me the map of the area, it is is a long way from New Zealand to South Wales and I will never get there so any information is very much appreciated,
Robin

[greenj]

Can anyone supply me with a photo on-line of the mansion of Laques which is about a mile from the village of Llanstephan, it used to belong to the Reed/Rede family and was then sold to the Lloyd family,
Robin

Hi Robin - don't have photo on-line at present but I do live in Laques Mansion - are you wanting any info about previous residents?  I do have some information relating specifically to the Lloyd family.  Let me know.

[king william]

Hi Greenj
Great to hear from you - my interest in Laques Mansion is that the Rede/Reed family were the first noted as living there - I found that on a Carmarthenshire history site - it said that the landed family of Reed were the first recorded as the owners in the late fifteenth century. I am descended from Thomas Rede who was a notable merchant of Carmarthen.
I am in New Zealand and am not likely to ever get to Wales to see where my ancestors lived but from here I can google these places and see them. Over here it is hard to imagine living in such a historic place as our country only has recorded history going back not much more than 200 years
Nice to hear from you and if you do have any history from the Rede's time there I owuld love to hear of it,
Robin

[greenj]

Hi Robin - if you get two versions of this message its because I'm not sure if I lost the first one - anyway, just to say I haven't forgotten about the photo and will work on it.  Yesterday I cleared out a cupboard at home and came across a tatty paperback entitled The Carmarthenshire Historian vol. xvii, which has a chapter in it dedicated to Laques and its Families by Major Francis Jones - Wales Herald Extraordinary!!

The chapter makes specific reference to the Redes - it specifies the Reeds as having either built the first mansion at Laques  or possibly improved and extended an existing building in the 1400's.  It describes Edward Reed of Carmarthen, in a letter to a kinsman, blazoned the family coat-of-arms as a "a golde griffwn in green feld and 3 ffesont or merliwns, for there is men alyve that saw there a glas windo in the sayd housse of gren kastell and in the housse of Edwrt Reed in kaer merddin, but the buk of arms is lost and the window perished"  Might be interesting to know  you have a coat of arms !!  How posh is that..

The book goes on to describe Hugh Reed marrying Janet daughter of Robert Don by whom he had three sons, Owen, Thomas and John.  Owen and Thomas died young and unmarried (?) so that it was the youngest brother who inherited Laques.  However, it seems there was another Thomas (just in case you were beginning to doubt your heritage! ) who "at the beginning of the 15th century held the castle of Llanstephan in his demesne as of fee from Henry, Prince of Wales.  However, he was obliged to "release" it to Owain Glyndwr and other Welsh rebels whereby it forfeited to the Prince (West Wales Historiacl records, xiii, 43)."

If you want me to send you the relevant pages please let me know (I need to learn how to do these things anway !!)

This is all quite addictive ...

GJ

[king william]

Dear Greenj
Yes it is extremely addictive - that Robert Don was probably also known as Robert Dwnn and my ancestors were cousins of the Dwnn family in that a generation back their parents were brothers - I would just love to have anything you can send me. I am not too good at doing anything more than just googling items and emailing, the rest just goes over my head!
My Rede line going backwards is Cecily Rede born about 1430, daughter of Thomas Rede, William, Sir Thomas, Sir William Rede and Jane Arblaster and his father John Rede.
This Rede family married into my Bussshe/Bush line. I found a couple of pages about Thomas Rede in a book about Owain Glyndwyr. He was a prominent merchant of Carmarthen and Bristol.
How nice to have a coat-of-arms, and many thanks for the information, will email you offline(if I can manage it) and give you my email address,
Many thanks
Robin

[Talacharn]

https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300027080-laques-llansteffan
Try this, it is the right building but no photograph.

[BillyF]

I was interested in this because I live nearby, unfortunately the 2 other posters haven`t been acitive for some time. One 2016, the other 2010.