Old Gwernyfed
house in Gwernyfed, Powys, Wales
Old Gwernyfed (Welsh: Hen Wernyfed) is a house dating from the medieval period in the community of Gwernyfed, Powys, Wales, close to the village of Felindre. It remains a private home and is a Grade I listed building. The gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
History
The Gwernyfed estate is of ancient origin; it is reputed to have been given by Bernard de Neufmarché (c. 1050 – c. 1125), the earliest of the Norman marcher lords, to Peter Gunter. It came into the ownership of the Williams family at the end of the 16th century. David Williams (d.1613), made his fortune in the law, serving as attorney general for South Wales from 1581-1595, Recorder of Brecon 1581-1604, Serjeant-at-law in 1593 and a judge of the King's Bench in 1604. His earnings funded extensive land purchases including the Gwernyfed estate which he bought from John Gunter in 1600. He also built up a substantial estate centred on Kingston Bagpuize in Oxfordshire where he died in 1613. Subsequent generations of his family served as members of parliament and as High sheriff. In the 17th century, the original medieval manor house was rebuilt.
“Old Gwernyfed” enters the record as house in Gwernyfed, Powys, Wales. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Gwernyfed, house and Powys can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Old Gwernyfed” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Gwernyfed, house and Powys provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17743242. Authority coordinates are 52.021, -3.193. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1050, 1125, 1613 and 1581.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Old Gwernyfed”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Old Gwernyfed primary sources, Old Gwernyfed archive and Gwernyfed research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Old Gwernyfed”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Old Gwernyfed” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.