Marmaduke Gwynne

[1] He was the eldest of seven children and his name was the same as his maternal grandfather who had built up the family fortune in a life of public service driven by self-interest.

[citation needed] By the time Gwynne had reached his majority he had returned from London to take up a substantial inheritance of Garth and Llanelwedd from his grandfather (as his father had died in 1708).

He took along a copy of the Riot Act, the reading of which was a necessary preliminary to dispersing an assembly thought contrary to public order, but with the need to presume innocence he first listened to one of his sermons.

His eleven-year-old daughter, Sally (baptised Sarah), was intrigued but Theophilus Evans was completely unimpressed and within two years he had moved away from his erstwhile benefactor.

[1] In 1738 Gwynne was offering Harris the use of valuable books in Welsh and he was seen as amongst the first members of the gentry in Wales to openly declare their support for this religious revolution.

Gwynne was able to use his skill and influence to avoid a custodial sentence, but Harris had to take a fine for a reduced charge of "behaving in a riotous manner".

Gwynne eventually stepped back from his active support for Methodism but he remained on good terms with the Wesleys and Howell Harris.

[citation needed] Marmaduke Gwynne died in 1769, aged 77, and was buried at Llanlleonfel parish church near the Garth estate.

In time it was the descendants of his second son Marmaduke (who died in 1782) who inherited the family's wealth and lived at Llanelwedd Hall until the early 20th century.