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Aber became a more important part of the Llewelyn family’s living arrangements, along with Conwy, Trefriw and others, they were leaving Aberfraw as the sand took over and looking east for their future Conway becoming their center. Llewelyn spent a very small amount of time in Aber. He would have moved about the area to show himself to his subjects. as with modern day arrangements, in times of conflict the head of state would move away from the capital of the kingdom and so to Aber where the kings emissary found him. Llewelyn would probably have enjoyed much of the area as he came here to relax in his favorite Manor and Manor house. Where he stayed is still up for debate there are 3 main contenders as listed below. If the main house was in Hafod y Celyn, may be that’s where the Garth Celyn papers were written and the real name of the village was Abergarthcelyn. if not may be the stone built house next to the Mwd was it. In all the research I have done for this page I can find no information about the 13 century winged hall other than G.A.T’s survey. After the fall of the Llewelyn dynasty In 1287 the manor of Aber was removed from the crowns ownership so that no records would be kept and it was granted to Henry Somur ( Henry de Saumur) for the period of 5 years, in 1327 a David of Overton was Lord of the manor followed in 1330 by John de Houseum by 1390 Henry de Coton was being compensated with grant of the manor but the manor was seized by the Princes Escheator and then granted to John de Pont in 1417 and in 1437 a petition for a grant of the upkeep of the manor. 1484 the Aber manor was granted to Richard Vaughan, there then follows a number of disputes over the lessee of the manor till in 1551 the lesse was held by Ryce Thomas and then in 1610 William Thomas brought the estate from the crown and by 1689 the manor was in the ownership of the Bulkeleys of Baron Hill and with the demise of the Baron Hill estate it was sold to Penrhyn Estate and was eventually sold to by public sale. If that is not the Manor House what about the Tir Hir up in the Valley. Were ever it was it had to be large enough for this event to have taken place ”This engagement took place November 6, 1282 and it is stated that Llewelyn made a feast at Aber to his friends to celebrate the victory. However this joy was of but short duration and it was probably the last feast held in Aber's princely hall”.
These were the main dwellings in Llywelyn’s Aber of the 12 -13 centuries there were also a number of Manor farms namely Pen y Bryn and Henfaes
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The Manor House
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was a large stone built winged hall close to the Mwd
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Hafod Y Celyn
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was a farmstead or summer house built further up the Valley
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Ty Hir
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was a farm Long house in the valley
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In feudal England, escheat referred to the situation where the tenant of a fief died without an heir or committed a felony. The fief reverted back to ownership of the King for one year and one day, by right of primer seisin, after which it reverted back to the original lord who had granted it. From the time of Henry III, the monarchy took particular interest in escheat as a source of revenue. From the 12th century onward, the Crown appointed escheators to manage escheats and report to the Exchequer, with one escheator per county established by the middle of the 14th century. Upon learning the death of a tenant, the escheator would hold an "inquisition" to learn if the king had any rights to the land. If there was any doubt, the escheator would seize the land and refer the case to Westminster where it would be settled, ensuring that not one day's revenue would be lost. This would be a source of concern with land owners when there were delays from Westminster.
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